The Cradle Will Fall
by SnowPrincess88
Summary: Based on the 70s TV show. Frank and Joe agree to help Fenton search for a missing, pregnant teen, and soon find themselves involved in a full-scale baby selling ring...with a perpetrator who will do anything to avoid being discovered. Even murder.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This story is based on the 70s TV show, and is what I would consider a "summer beach read". Very definitely a mystery with danger, but hopefully with some fun, too. Kinda like the show. LOL It follows my previous three. You can catch onto what is happening without reading them, but if you're interested in any backstory, that's where you'll find it. Some of the canon from the TV show (in case you've been busy since 1979, or...gulp...you weren't born): Fenton Hardy lost his wife when Frank and Joe were very young and Aunt Gertrude moved in to help raise them. Callie Shaw is Fenton's office assistant, but was never romantically involved with Frank. Chet Morton was a character in the series, but Iola was not. Vanessa Bender does not exist since the show pre-dates the "Casefiles" incarnation of the Hardy Boys. Frank had a thing for Nancy Drew during the entire series and Joe was unattached (except for the guest star of the week romance the writers always included. In short, the boy got around. LOL).

My self-indulgent series of stories begins with Season 3 of the show, since I could never swallow the Justice Department hiring two teenagers as special agents. I have also aged Frank and Joe to 23 and 22, respectively. As per my other stories, this one is also completely written and I will post a new chapter every other day. Thanks to my betas, Kenna and JD for all their help! Oh, and my sincere apologies to Glen Larson Productions and Universal Studios. The TV show belongs to them. Thanks for reading!

The Cradle Will Fall

Chapter 1

"Emily needs to be pregnant."

Joe Hardy paused behind the kitchen counter, where he'd been making a turkey sandwich for lunch. "Excuse me?"

"Pregnant. We need Emily to be pregnant," Fenton Hardy repeated, pouring himself a glass of lemonade.

Joe shook his head. How on earth was that a response to the question, 'How can we help on this case?' But if that's what his father wanted…

A sly smile crossed Joe's face. "Well, I'll do my best, Dad, but I can't promise anything."

His brother Frank, seated at the kitchen table, choked on his drink.

Fenton gave Joe a look. "Let me clarify. We need for Emily to _pretend_ to be pregnant."

Joe grinned as Frank called out from the table, "Dad, exactly what kind of case is this?"

Fenton reached for a file on the counter and handed it to Frank. "Mr. and Mrs. Baxter came to see me earlier today. Apparently they just learned from a third party that their fifteen-year-old daughter, Amy, is pregnant."

Joe whistled low, as he grabbed a tomato and sliced it. "Fifteen? Wow, that's rough."

"Yes, and apparently when Amy found out and told her boyfriend, he wanted nothing more to do with her." Fenton took another sip of his lemonade.

Frank shook his head. "Upstanding young man, huh?"

Fenton continued, "So, from what the Baxters can piece together, Amy answered an ad she found on a local bulletin board for an adoption agency two weeks ago."

"And?" Joe prompted, as he added lettuce and turkey to his sandwich, then turned to the refrigerator to get some cheese.

"And nobody has seen or heard from Amy since then," Fenton concluded, stealing the top two slices of turkey off Joe's sandwich.

"So, you want Emily to pretend to be pregnant and answer this same ad?" Frank guessed.

"Yes and no." Fenton popped the turkey into his mouth and swallowed. "The Baxters aren't the only ones with questions about this adoption agency. The Feds have some concerns as well."

"So, what exactly do you want from us, Dad?" Joe asked. He looked down at his sandwich. Hadn't he just put turkey on that?

"I want you and Emily to pretend to be a young couple in trouble, who are investigating the possibility of putting your baby up for adoption," Fenton said, then turned to Frank as he refilled his glass. "And I want you and Nancy to pose as a married couple looking to adopt a baby. We also need to check out whether or not this agency is selling babies, which is what the Feds suspect. And doing it all against the wishes of the birth mothers."

Joe exchanged glances with his brother. This was not going to be just another average case. The fact that young pregnant girls and newborn babies were involved ratcheted up the potential complication level by one hundred percent. Not to mention, Emily was not going to be hanging out behind the scenes…she'd be very involved. That made Joe nervous.

"What do you think, boys?"

"Yeah, it sounds really interesting," Frank admitted, tracing the rim of his glass with his index finger. "If Nan's not busy, I'm sure she'll want in."

Fenton turned to his younger son. "Joe? What about Emily? I realize we'll be asking a lot of her."

Joe exhaled slowly, adding three more slices of turkey to his sandwich. "I don't know, Dad. Why don't you ask her yourself? She should be here in a minute or two."

"I will," Fenton said. "But I want to know if you have any problems with her doing this."

"I'll be honest...I'm not sure." Joe placed some lettuce and cheese on the turkey and topped it with another slice of bread. "I'm going to need a lot more information."

"And I'll get that for you," Fenton assured him. "But I have your permission to ask her about it?"

Joe nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Yeah." His father could ask her, but that was as far as Joe was willing to go at the moment.

"Anybody home?" Emily's voice echoed from the foyer in the front of the house.

"In here," Joe said, setting his sandwich down on a plate as he walked around the counter to meet her.

Emily Clark, Joe's beautiful, dark haired girlfriend, stepped into the kitchen of the Hardy home, and tossed two shopping bags onto a nearby chair. "Hey, guys."

Joe greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "How was the mall?"

"Packed. It must be the gorgeous weather. Everybody's out running errands today," she said with a smile. "What have you three been up to?"

"Talking about a case, actually," Frank said.

"Yeah. In fact, Dad has something he wants to ask you, honey." Joe turned to reach for his sandwich.

"Oh?" Emily looked at Fenton expectantly.

"Um, yeah." Fenton cleared his throat. "This case we're thinking of taking involves an adoption agency, and, uh..." Fenton ran his hand across the back of his neck.

"And?" she prompted with a smile.

"Well, I was just wondering if you could help us out by being pregnant."

Emily's mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out.

Joe knew that statement had thrown her for a loop. And he couldn't let it go without first having some fun. He slipped his arm around Emily's waist. "I told him we'd be happy to work on it."

Her head snapped around to stare at him.

"No," Fenton spoke up hurriedly, reaching for Emily's hand. "No, no, that came out wrong. What I meant to say was would you consider posing with Joe as a young couple in trouble?"

"Wow." Emily looked from Joe to Fenton. "Maybe you'd better tell me a little more about this."

Fenton explained what he knew, as Emily helped herself to a glass of lemonade and sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter.

"Gosh, I feel so sorry for this girl." She sipped her drink. "She's really only fifteen years old?"

"I'm afraid so," Fenton said. "And her parents are worried sick."

"Well, I want to help if I can, and if Joe wants to." She gave him an uncertain look. "What exactly would this involve?"

Joe smiled. She knew him well enough to know that letting her work on a case was not something he'd be in favor of. Too many close calls where she'd been put in danger had made him very wary of involving her in his work at any level.

Fenton smiled at her. "I'll put in a call to the Feds. They're going to be handling most of the behind the scenes work. Why don't I tell them we want to meet with an agent and see what you think after that?"

Emily nodded. "Okay."

Frank stood. "I'll call Nan."

Joe walked over to Emily's side. "I don't want you to think you have to do this. In fact, I'm not sure I want you anywhere near it."

"Well, we don't know exactly what they want me to do yet. But Joe, this girl is only fifteen years old, pregnant, and alone. She needs someone to help her." Emily gave him a pleading look he found hard to resist.

Joe ran his hand over his face. He didn't know if he could handle this. It was one thing for her to help behind the scenes on a case, but to have her be an active part of an investigation? That would put her right in the line of fire, so to speak. The problem was, Emily now _liked _detective work. Joe hadn't counted on that. He could see in her eyes how much she wanted to be a part of this. But could he quell his fears enough to let her? That he would have to think about.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews, Jackie, leya, zenfrodo, Caranath, unobtrusive, Vinsmouse, bhar and Maddi! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them! Even though this story takes place in the late 1970s, I have fast forwarded obstetrical tools and technology a few years beyond that to facilitate the story line. It's just easier that way. LOL Thanks to everyone reading!

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Joe sat in the living room of his home with Fenton, Frank, and one of two federal agents assigned to the adoption fraud case.

"So, you only want us to go in there and talk to these people? That's it?" Joe asked. That didn't sound too bad. He would be right there with Emily the entire time.

"Well, what happens next will be determined by the situation," the agent explained. "We want you and Emily to be very evasive and non-committal with them. You are only _looking_ into relinquishing your baby."

Joe nodded and grinned. "Okay, so don't sign anything."

"No." The agent's tone was firm. "In fact, we want you to ultimately tell them that you've decided to keep your child and you're not interested in adoption."

So go in, have an interview, say no, and leave. Joe thought maybe that would be fairly safe. If any part of this adoption agency was legitimate, he doubted they'd be threatened during a first interview. Especially since Emily wouldn't be there alone.

"Hmm," Frank said from his position on the couch. "This is heavy stuff here."

"Yes, it is," Agent Brown agreed. He turned from his chair in front of the chess table and pinned Joe with his gaze. "And these people do not play games, so you have to be careful. Do not let Emily out of your sight when you're there. And especially do not allow them to give her a medical exam under any circumstances."

The agent didn't have to worry about that. Joe wasn't going to let anyone even get close to her, let alone try and give her an exam. "Do you really think they'll want to do that?"

"It's a possibility," Agent Brown reached into his briefcase and removed a manila folder. "We've drawn up medical records for her, in case the adoption agency asks to see them. We'll wait for Emily to come downstairs to fill in some additional information." His pen was poised over the file. "She's not currently pregnant, is she?"

Joe turned crimson as he glanced from the agent to Fenton. Talking about his sex life in front of his father wasn't at the top of his list of favorite things to do. "No, she's not pregnant. She's on the pill."

"Good. Then don't let them examine her."

A female voice was heard from the top of the stairs. "Okay, everybody," the other federal agent called down. "We're ready."

Joe looked anxiously toward the staircase as his girlfriend and the agent walked down. Emily was wearing a specially designed pregnancy simulating apparatus under her new maternity jean shorts and loose top. Her face was full of trepidation as she entered the room.

"Well, what do you think? She's about five months along," the agent announced with a smile on her face.

Joe couldn't breathe for a second. He hadn't known what to expect, but this caught him completely off guard. She definitely looked pregnant. Just like she would if she were really having their baby. Their baby. The thought actually made him smile.

Fenton stepped over and hugged her. "You look wonderful, sweetheart."

Emily gave him a timid smile. "Thanks. I feel a little awkward."

"Well, I second what Dad said," Frank told her. "You're gorgeous."

"Thank you." Emily turned to Joe, and he could see by her expression that she was nervous. "You haven't said anything."

Joe slipped his arm around Emily's shoulders. "You're beautiful." He smiled and tentatively placed his hand on her now bulging tummy. A feeling that he could only describe as some sort of mixture of wonder and awe coursed through him, and he kissed her on the temple.

"Beautiful", he whispered in her ear. Something moved underneath his fingers. Startled, he pulled back. "What was that?"

Agent McClafferty laughed. "That was your baby kicking."

"What?" Joe was dumbfounded.

The agent smiled. "This suit is the absolute latest in technology. It's designed to replicate an actual pregnancy as nearly as possible. So, your baby will kick regularly at unpredictable intervals. Just like the real ones do."

Fenton chuckled. "Well, since that's Joe's baby, I think you'd better turn the kick frequency dial up to high. He kicked as much as an entire soccer team."

Joe gave his dad a look, then turned to Emily. "Can you feel that?"

She nodded. "It's a little strange. The entire thing is going to take some getting used to."

"Yes, it will," Agent McClafferty spoke up. "Wear the suit around the house for a day or two. The tummy is filled with water, but I promise, you won't slosh. What you will feel is the extra weight. It's about twenty pounds, and it might make you tired and a little short of breath. Not to mention awkward at first."

"It's a lot to take in," Emily said.

"May I?" Frank asked, extending his hand.

Emily nodded, as Frank settled his palm over her abdomen. "Wow, that feels real. You'd never know she wasn't pregnant."

"Did you feel that kick?" Emily asked.

"Yeah." Frank grinned. "I think you have a little linebacker in there. Amazing how realistic it is."

"That's the whole idea," Agent Brown spoke up, rifling through some papers while Joe helped Emily over to the couch. "As long as you don't have an examination, nobody will know the difference. Okay, Miss Clark, I have a few questions for you."

Emily nodded as Joe helped her to sit down. He took the spot next to her and slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Agent Brown held up what appeared to be two different ultrasound photos. "First, do you want your baby to be a boy or a girl?"

"Oh, I don't know," Emily said. "I have no idea. I didn't think you usually got to choose."

"Well, in this case you do," Agent Brown responded. "So, what'll it be?"

"I know what I want." Joe smiled at Emily tenderly. "A baby girl. A sweet little girl who looks exactly like her beautiful mother."

Tears filled Emily's green eyes. "Oh, Joe."

Joe pulled her close to him, and kissed the side of her head gently. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

Agent Brown checked off a box on his form and announced dryly, "A girl it is, then. Congratulations."

Agent McClafferty sniffled. "Oh, this is going to be so perfect. You two are the cutest couple I have ever seen in my life."

Agent Brown stared hard at her, and she mumbled, "I'm sorry. That wasn't very professional."

Emily smiled. "I don't mind. Thank you for the compliment."

"Okay, well then, Miss Clark, if you wouldn't mind filling out some of these forms for me, we can get you a very realistic looking medical file," Agent Brown continued.

"Um, sure." Emily went to stand up and stumbled backwards. She giggled. "My center of gravity sure has changed in the last ten minutes."

Joe helped her up and then walked over to his father and brother while Emily sat at the chess table next to Agent Brown.

Frank gave Joe a friendly cuff on the shoulder. "So, how does it feel being a father to be?"

"Really weird."

"Not unlike most _real_ new fathers-to-be," Fenton said with a chuckle.

Joe shook his head. "Is it just me, or does she all of a sudden seem fifty times more vulnerable now then she did this morning?"

"Normal again, Joe," Fenton reassured him. "It's natural for you to want to protect the mother of your unborn child."

Joe exhaled deeply. "I guess I wasn't expecting this part of it. I mean, I didn't know what to expect, but it definitely wasn't all of this...emotional stuff."

Frank put his arm around Joe's shoulders. "Well, I will say this. She is incredibly cute with that little tummy bump."

"Yes, she is," Fenton echoed. "And as much as I want you two to give me a granddaughter in real life...let's not rush things, okay?"

"No, Dad. Don't worry, you're safe from being called 'Grandpa' for a few years, at least," Joe assured him.

"But I do want this," Fenton added. "And with that girl as your wife, got it?"

"No problem there." Joe smiled. "I'm one hundred percent with you on that one."

"Good," Fenton patted him on the back as the doorbell sounded. "I'll go get that."

Frank grinned at Joe. "So, I guess this means I'm going to be an uncle." He looked over to the front door as Callie Shaw, Fenton's office assistant, entered. "Joe?" he nudged him in the ribs. "Let's have some fun."

Joe chuckled. "You're cold."

"Aww, come on. Callie will be your litmus test on how authentic Emily looks." Frank waved at her. "Hey, Cal, come here for a minute."

Callie walked into the living room. "What is it Fr...?" She stopped short as Emily stood up. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open.

"Hi, Callie," Emily called out cheerfully. "I haven't seen you in a little while. How's it going?"

Callie looked from Emily to Joe, then back to Emily.

"Callie?" Emily's brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"You're...you're...pregnant!"

Emily looked down at her bulging stomach, then up at Callie's expression of total shock. "No. No, I'm not."

"Yes you are. You're pregnant. I'm not blind." She glared at Joe. "How did this happen?"

Joe struggled mightily to keep a straight face. "Pretty much the usual way, Cal."

"Joe!" Emily chided him. Then she burst out laughing. "I'm not really pregnant, Callie. It's only pretend. It's for a case."

"For a..." She turned to Frank and Joe, and her gaze narrowed. "You two are horrible!"

"Sorry." Frank laughed out loud. "But we really did need to see if Em was believable. Thanks for helping us out."

Callie's face softened. "Okay, I guess if you were being horrible for a good reason." She furrowed her brow. "Although I'm not entirely sure you were...exactly."

Joe chuckled. He knew there would be payback for that little joke, but it was worth it just to see the expression on Callie's face.

Agent Brown approached Joe. "Well, that takes care of our end for now. We'll contact you as soon we have more information to give you, and as you begin your assignment."

"Thank you, sir. We'll be waiting." Joe shook the man's hand as Emily and Agent McClafferty joined them.

Agent McClafferty hugged Emily goodbye. "You two really are just the cutest couple."

"Thanks," Emily said with a smile as Fenton led the agents to the front door.

Joe hugged Emily and patted her stomach. "You okay with this?"

She nodded. "I keep thinking of Amy Baxter. She must be terrified, Joe. She's so young to have to deal with this."

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "I'd like to punch her so-called 'boyfriend' right in the mouth."

"He's probably terrified, too." Emily looked up at him. "Are_ you_ okay with this?"

"For now. I only agreed to have us do one interview at the agency. We'll see what happens after that."

Emily nodded as Fenton entered the living room.

"Well, I guess we'd better keep Emily in the house tonight if we don't want the Bayport rumor mill going into overdrive."

Joe laughed. "That's for sure."

"Then I say we order some pizza for dinner," Fenton said with a smile as he picked up the phone.

OOOoooOOO

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Aunt Gertrude let herself in the front door of the Hardy home around seven that evening.

"Good grief, no one is _ever_ around to help me with my suitcases," she muttered. "Fenton? Boys?"

Gertrude shook her head and left her luggage in the entrance hall. She walked into the kitchen to see Emily and Joe standing behind the open refrigerator door. "Oh, so somebody is here."

OOO

Joe looked up to find his aunt near the swinging door in the kitchen entryway, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, sorry Aunt Gert," he began as he shut the refrigerator. "I guess we didn't hear you come in."

"Well, that's obvious," she said, moving into the kitchen. She walked over to the table as Joe and Emily stepped around the counter to greet her. "Maybe you could find your brother and get my suit–"

Gertrude paused, her eyes widening in obvious shock as Emily came into full view. She pointed her finger at her nephew. "Joseph! She, she's... How could you let this happen?"

Joe looked to Emily and then back at his aunt. "Aunt Gertrude, no."

Gertrude continued to stare at Emily's mid-section, a horrified expression coming over her. "I warned my brother. I told him...and now, now..."

She collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.

"Oh my gosh!" Emily exclaimed.

Frank and Fenton hurried into the room. Fenton looked down at his sister, passed out cold on the kitchen floor, then up at Joe. "Let me guess, she saw Emily."

"You got it," Joe said, kneeling behind his aunt as he tried to raise her to a sitting position.

Chuckling, Frank came over to help him, while Emily filled a glass of cold water from a pitcher in the refrigerator.

Fenton ran his hand through his hair. "Aw, hell. Why did she have to pick today to come back from the beach? Move her into the living room, boys."

Joe held his aunt under her arms while Frank lifted her feet, and they carried her awkwardly into the other room, placing her on the sofa.

Joe looked up to see his father and Emily right behind him. Fenton took the glass of water from Emily's hands. "Joe, maybe you and Em should go somewhere else until I can explain this situation. She's liable to pass out all over again if she sees one of you."

Joe laughed, as he took Emily by the arm and led her back to the kitchen. "Okay, Dad. I'm fine with that."

"I feel terrible, Joe" Emily said. "I don't think a shock like that is very good for your aunt."

"She'll be all right." He went to pull Emily in for a hug and was stopped by her bulging belly.

Emily giggled. "Ooops, I guess the baby's in the way."

Joe adjusted himself to one side of her. "Yeah, this is going to take some getting used to."

He hugged her close, jumping as he felt a kick from Emily's tummy. "That is just too weird."

Emily's face clouded. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm not very sexy like this."

"What are you talking about?" Joe leaned back and looked in her eyes. "You are incredibly sexy like this." He placed his hand on her stomach. "This is _my_ baby, right?"

She giggled. "Of course."

"Then that is very sexy, because I know how it got there." Joe winked, then leaned in and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"I love you," she said softly, tilting her face up to his for another long kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thanks for the feedback, Caranath, Jackie, unobtrusive, zenfrodo, leya, Vinsmouse and bhar! You made me smile! Thanks also to those who are reading!

Chapter 3

_Wow, this is nice._ Frank surveyed his suite in the ultra-exclusive hotel where the agency had made reservations for the duration of the case. It overlooked Mirror Lake in the Adirondack Mountains, and apparently no expense had been spared.

_Nancy is going to love this place,_ he thought, as he took in the elaborately carved wooden bed, the sofas, the stone fireplace and the incredible view.

He smiled as he set his luggage down and noticed a champagne bottle chilling in an ice bucket on the coffee table. The door to the suite opened and Frank turned his head.

Nancy Drew stepped into the room, followed by a bellhop carrying her luggage. Her eyes grew wide as she looked around her.

"Sweetheart," Frank gushed. "I'm so glad you're here." He moved over to his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek.

"Yes, the traffic in the city was murder," Nancy responded airily. "It took James forever to get the car through the tunnel."

Frank tipped the bellhop generously from the large stash of cash left for him by Agent Brown. The man smiled broadly and lifted his cap. "Thank you kindly, Mr. Callister."

Frank nodded and escorted him out of the room. When he was sure the bellhop had walked away from their door, he turned to Nancy with a huge grin on his face. Nancy was equally enthusiastic as she squealed, "Frank, look at this place!"

"I know," he said, coming over to her and sweeping her up in his arms. "Can you believe it's all ours?"

"No," Nancy said, twining her arms around his neck. "How on earth did we get so lucky?"

"Oh, well, we're filthy rich, honey." Frank kissed her. "Did you forget?"

"Silly me," Nancy said, a smile on her face. "I guess I married well, huh?"

"Yes, you did." Frank set her down gently, then walked over to the coffee table and picked up the champagne bottle. "But I didn't do too badly either. Your family is loaded, baby. Haven't you read the dossier?"

He popped the cork, and champagne flowed down the sides of the bottle. Frank laughed, as Nancy stepped over and picked up a crystal flute from a silver tray. He filled it, then poured a glass for himself.

"To the high life," Nancy toasted, holding up her drink.

"And to romance," Frank said with a smile.

"Well, of course." Nancy clinked her glass against his. "I'm counting on lots and lots of romance." She sipped her champagne, then stepped closer to Frank. "And as far as I'm concerned, there's no time like the present."

"Funny," Frank said, setting his drink on the tray. "I was just thinking the same thing myself."

He reached over and took Nancy's glass, placing it next to his. Then he pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear. "I've missed you so much, honey."

"Me, too," Nancy replied, tilting her head back as Frank brought his mouth over hers for a lingering kiss.

OOOoooOOO

Emily shifted her weight in the passenger seat of her red Honda, trying to get more comfortable as Joe exited the freeway.

"You okay?" he asked, a concerned expression on his face.

Emily smiled. Joe had been exceptionally considerate since she'd started wearing this pregnancy suit, and she was grateful. The apparatus made her feel ungainly and awkward. She had a new-found respect for pregnant women everywhere if this thing was even remotely realistic.

She glanced at Joe's anxious expression, then patted her tummy. "I'm still getting used to this. It's hard to sit still for a long time."

He pulled off the road and into a gas station. "Well, why don't you get out and walk around while I fill up? Will that help?"

He parked the car next to the pump, then came around and opened Emily's door, holding out his hand. "Need some assistance, madam?"

"I'm afraid so." Emily got to her feet, and Joe smiled at her.

"Have I told you how cute you look today?"

She giggled. "I don't feel cute. I feel fat."

"That's not fat," Joe said, putting his arms around her. "That's my baby."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Joe grinned at her. "Kind of. Is that bad?"

"No." Emily kissed him softly. "It's very sweet, actually." And one more thing that impressed her about Joe. She knew plenty of guys who would have run fast and far at the mere _thought _of their girlfriend being pregnant. But Joe wasn't that kind of guy.

He touched her lightly on the tip of her nose, then walked around to the pump and began filling up the car.

"I'll be in there." Emily gestured to the small convenience store across the parking lot. Joe nodded as she headed that way. She walked inside to the sound of tinkling bells above the door.

"Oh, hello, dearie," an older woman called out from behind the counter. "I was wondering when you were going to come in out of that hot sun."

Emily smiled. "It's actually nice out there. The fresh air feels good."

The lady clucked at her. "Oh my, are you still at the nauseous stage?"

"Um, no. I was really lucky," Emily said. "I never had much morning sickness."

The lady waved her hand. "Yes, you are lucky. Me? I had seven kids, and I was sick as dog for three solid months with every last one of them." She came out from behind the counter. "What can I get for you, hon?"

"Well, I'm a little thirsty," Emily admitted. "Where are your drinks?"

"You let me take care of that." The clerk walked to the back of the store and returned with two sixteen ounce bottles of milk. "Regular or chocolate?"

Emily looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"You need your calcium, dear. Do you want regular or chocolate?"

"Oh, chocolate." Emily smiled. She'd better start thinking like a pregnant woman. The bottle of cola she was going to ask for wouldn't have been the right thing to drink. "Thank you. My, um, husband will pay for it when he comes in."

The lady waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. It's on the house. I remember how hard it was when my Ted and I first got married." She handed Emily the chocolate milk. "I saw you two out there when you pulled in. He sure does love you."

Emily looked at her, wondering how on earth the woman could know something like that.

"It's written all over his face, dearie."

Emily blushed at her comment as Joe entered the store. The clerk beamed at him. "Well, aren't you two just the cutest couple?"

Joe looked up as he was reaching for his wallet. "I'm sorry?"

"Your wife. She's absolutely darling," the lady gushed. "And you're going to have the most beautiful baby."

Joe grinned and put his arm around Emily. "We will if she looks like my wife."

"Oh, are you having a girl?" the woman asked, her voice jumping up an octave in obvious excitement.

Emily nodded.

"How wonderful. I had seven boys. I would have given anything for one sweet, delicate, little girl." She shook her head and sighed as she took Joe's money for the gas. "Well, I'm keeping you much too long. Good luck to both of you."

"Thanks," Joe replied with a smile as he put his arm around Emily. "We appreciate it."

"Yes, thanks for the milk," Emily called as they stepped through the door.

"Milk?" Joe asked.

"I need my calcium," Emily said with a grin. She gave the bottle to Joe, who unscrewed the lid for her and handed it back. She took a sip. "It's good for the baby."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Then by all means, drink away."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the great comments, Caranath, unobtrusive, zenfrodo, bhar, Vinsmouse and Jackie! A little Nancy/Frank fluff to start the chapter (for those who requested it, LOL) and then right into the investigation. Thanks to those reading!

Chapter 4

"Mmmm." Nancy leaned her head on Frank's shoulder. "This has got to be the most comfortable bed on the face of the earth."

"No kidding." Frank exhaled deeply. This whole case was starting out on a very good note. A luxury hotel room, champagne, and the woman he loved in bed with him in the middle of the day. He turned to Nancy and kissed her. "It is going to be incredibly hard to focus on this case with so many distractions."

"Distractions?" Nancy grinned, sliding her hands into his hair. "Like what?"

Frank chuckled. "Like you." He kissed her again deeply. "I love you, Drew."

"And I love you, Hardy." She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away slightly. "But we do have work to do. Where is that dossier?"

"Party pooper."

"Party pooper?" Nancy tickled him in the ribs, causing him to jump. "I cannot believe I just heard that from you. Mr. Serious, Mr. Work before Pleasure, Mr.'Joe, We Need to Focus on the Case', Mr. Responsibility."

Frank pulled her down on top of him. "So I've had a change of heart."

He didn't think he wanted to do any work at all on the case today. After all, he and Nancy didn't have to make an appearance at the adoption agency until tomorrow. Why rush things when they had this wonderful room all to themselves? He put his hand on the back of Nancy's neck and brought her mouth down on his, kissing her long and hard.

He felt Nancy melt into him, as his kiss became more intense. He broke away, sliding his lips along the velvety-soft skin of her neck. He felt her breath hitch as he moved his mouth next to her ear. "You know what I really want?" he whispered.

She shivered and shook her head. "Wh-what?"

Frank didn't answer right away. Instead, he put his arms around her and turned, laying her down next to him. She gasped as his hands slid slowly along her bare skin under the covers. "This."

"Okay," she said breathlessly. "The case can wait for awhile longer."

Frank chuckled low. "I thought you'd see things my way."

OOOoooOOO

Joe pulled the car into the parking lot of the adoption agency, took the key out of the ignition, and rested his hand on Emily's leg. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She nodded, pushing a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear. "I can't stop thinking about how it would feel to be fifteen, pregnant, and alone. I want to help, but I admit it…I'm nervous."

Joe patted her leg. He was proud of her. Detective work didn't come naturally to her like it did to Nancy, but Emily wouldn't give up if she thought she could help someone by doing it. It was one of the things he loved about her. "That's all right. I think anyone going in there would be nervous."

She smiled at him. "I hope I don't mess up."

"You'll be great." He leaned in and kissed her. "And I promise. I'll stay with you the entire time."

She exhaled slowly. "Then let's get this over with."

Joe came around the car and helped Emily out. He stopped for a moment and hugged her tightly. "Don't be afraid."

She nodded and took his hand as they walked to the front door. He winked at her as he held it open, and they stepped inside. They were greeted by a smiling receptionist behind a desk.

"May I help you?" the young woman asked pleasantly.

"Um, yeah. We're here to talk to someone about adoption," Joe began.

"Okay," she said, handing him a clipboard. "Would you mind filling this out? I'll let one of our counselors know you're here."

Joe nodded and sat down with Emily on a loveseat in the cheerful waiting room, the walls lined with photographs of smiling parents and newborn infants.

Looked pretty normal, Joe thought as he began filling out the form the receptionist had given him. He had Emily check it over when he finished, then returned it to the girl behind the desk. She took it and smiled. "If you'll come with me, please."

Joe reached for Emily's hand and they followed the woman down a corridor. She paused by an open door, and stepped aside allowing Joe and Emily to enter. A middle-aged woman in a burgundy suit, with salt and pepper hair, stood to greet them.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Sanders, the owner here. And you are..."

"I'm Joe Fredericks, and this is my girlfriend, Emily Clark." Joe shook her extended hand, as did Emily. Mrs. Sanders then gestured to the two chairs in front of her oak desk. Joe helped Emily sit down, then took a seat himself, while the receptionist handed the clipboard to Mrs. Sanders.

She glanced over the information Joe had filled out and smiled at them over her glasses. "So, I take it you're thinking about giving your baby up for adoption."

They nodded, Emily still clutching Joe's hand tightly. He could tell she was feeling slightly intimidated. Mrs. Sanders had a very formidable presence. He rubbed his thumb over the back of Emily's knuckles in a reassuring gesture.

"Why?"

Joe cleared his throat. "Well, um, this pregnancy was obviously unplanned, and, uh, while we want to get married and have children someday, we just aren't sure we can do this right now."

Mrs. Sanders nodded. "I see. So, you're both in school at the moment?"

"Yes, I'm going to school and working part time, and Emily's just going to school," Joe continued. "So money is pretty much non-existent."

"Have you been in for prenatal care?" Mrs. Sanders asked Emily.

"Yes, at the campus health center," Emily replied. She handed Mrs. Sanders the file the federal agent had prepared. "These are my medical records."

While Mrs. Sanders took the file from her and sifted through it, Joe took a moment to observe his surroundings. Nothing in her office appeared out of the ordinary. The building and staff seemed professional, and while Mrs. Sanders was quite stern, she didn't seem threatening. Of course, appearances could be deceiving.

Mrs. Sanders glanced up. "You're twenty-three weeks along?"

"Yes, ma'am," Emily answered.

"And you're feeling well?"

"Yes."

"You don't drink, smoke or do drugs?"

"No, never," Emily said.

"No sexually transmitted diseases?"

Now what the hell kind of question was that? Joe tensed a bit in his chair until he felt Emily squeeze his hand.

"No," Emily replied.

Mrs. Sanders nodded as she continued to shuffle through the papers, taking out the ultrasound film. "Your baby is a girl?"

Emily nodded.

Mrs. Sanders looked her straight in the eyes. "Do you have a name for her?"

"Well, um, we..." Joe began. A name? Was he supposed to have a name? The agents didn't mention that.

"Yes," Emily said softly.

Joe turned to her in surprise.

"Laura," Emily whispered, uttering the name of Joe's mother.

Joe's eyes filled with unexpected tears as he stared at his girlfriend. The perfect name. And something Emily would naturally think of. A sweet baby girl who would be named after his mother and look exactly like Emily.

"I see," Mrs. Sanders said dryly, writing something down on the clipboard.

Emily glanced over at Joe, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Laura Emily," Joe told Mrs. Sanders. And he could see that little girl so clearly in his mind, he could barely utter her name. Big green eyes and beautiful dark curls. Someday.

A little sob escaped from Emily's throat, and Mrs. Sanders handed her the box of tissues on her desk. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms in front of her and looked intently at the young couple. After a moment she spoke. "You two are not ready to make this decision, are you?"

Emily shook her head.

"Well," she began, "it's not something you should take lightly. You need to think very seriously about this. I'm going to tell you what we do here, and what we would expect of you if you decide to go through with placing your baby. I think you need to have all the information necessary to make the correct decision. Okay?"

"Yeah," Joe replied, holding Emily's hand in both of his own. This had caught him completely off guard. He did not expect this visit to be emotional at all. Now he found himself glancing repeatedly at Emily's bulging mid-section, thinking there was no way in hell he would ever give this woman his daughter.

"Well, the first thing would be a complete physical with one of our doctors. We need to make sure your baby is healthy." She reached into a desk drawer. "Then, we would like to have you stay in our housing until your delivery date. We want to take care of our mothers-to-be, and this way we can guarantee that you have three hot, nutritious meals a day and get the proper amount of rest and exercise."

"Um," Joe interrupted, "she wouldn't be able to live at home or go to school?"

"Not until she delivers," Mrs. Sanders stated firmly.

"But, we aren't from here," Joe continued. "She would be away from her family, from me." _And exactly where someone like you could take advantage of her._

The reality of the situation dawned on Joe in an instant. That's what these people did. They preyed on vulnerability. They took teenage girls with no one to support them and victimized them even more.

"She would only be here for a few more months."

"I'm not comfortable with that," Joe said.

An amused smile crossed Mrs. Sanders' face. "We've found that time away from the birth father is actually good for our young girls. It often gives them necessary perspective on their relationships."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Joe demanded. This woman was treading on thin ice. He did not like the implication in her last statement.

Mrs. Sanders leaned back and stared at him. "I mean that sometimes the guy who got them in trouble isn't necessarily the best choice for them in their lives. A little time away often cures these girls of their infatuation." She spoke the last word slowly and with emphasis.

Joe felt Emily squeeze his hand again and he knew it was a warning.

"That's not the kind of relationship we have. We love each other very much," Emily explained.

"I'm sure you do."

"Where do your expectant mothers stay?" Joe pressed. Because now he wanted some cold, hard facts. He definitely didn't like the vibes this woman was giving off.

"We have a home close to town," Mrs. Sanders explained, with a note of irritation in her voice as she handed Emily a folder. "It helps the girls to be together. It's a tremendous support system. All of the information is in here. I do need to assure you that all of our adopting couples are wonderful people, who will be able to provide your daughter with the best life possible. Our standards are very high, and we reject many more potential adoptive parents than we accept."

Emily nodded as she took the folder.

Mrs. Sanders gave Joe and Emily a penetrating look. "You two really need to think about this seriously. I know you've already bonded with your baby, but that doesn't mean you're able to provide your daughter with all she needs in life. You have to think about what would be best for her, not you."

Joe stood up, and Emily did the same.

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Sanders. We appreciate your time." Joe reached out and shook her hand. "You've certainly given us a lot to think about."

"I'd like to see you again, after you've had time to go over the information in the folder." Mrs. Sanders directed this question to Emily, but the predatory gleam in her eye didn't escape Joe's notice.

Emily nodded. "Okay."

Joe's grip on his girlfriend's hand tightened. Apparently she wanted to pursue this. He wasn't sure he did.

"Would tomorrow afternoon be all right?" Mrs. Sanders glanced at her desk calendar. "This same time?"

Joe turned to Emily and caught the pleading look in her eyes. One more meeting, and then he was going to take her so far away from this place, Mrs. Sanders would never be able to track her down.

"Fine," he agreed. "We'll see you then."

Mrs. Sanders rose and escorted them to her office door. As Joe released Emily's hand to hold the door for her, Mrs. Sanders touched her lightly on the arm. "Please consider this seriously, dear. Your boyfriend may be here with you right now, but it won't last forever. It never does."

Emily stared at her, as Joe reached back to take Emily's hand again. He was not going to let go of her for one second, because this place was trouble.

"Trust me, dear. I see it every day," she whispered.

Joe put his arm around Emily's shoulders as they walked down the hall. He wanted to get her out of there now. He didn't have one shred of evidence against Mrs. Sanders, but he knew she was guilty as sin. And when Joe had that feeling...he was always right.

OOO

Mrs. Sanders pressed a button on the intercom on her desk. Presently, a middle-aged man stepped into her office, shutting the door behind him. "I want that girl's baby," she announced.

Harold Sanders gave out a short laugh. "I watched the whole thing, darling. They are not going to relinquish their child."

"That baby would bring in a huge sum of money. Did you see how beautiful the mother was? And the father was equally good looking. Any child of theirs would be stunning."

"Eugenia, trust me. That young man has absolutely no intention of giving up his baby."

"I want you to follow them, Harold." She tapped her perfectly manicured red fingernails on her desk. "I'm going to have that infant, no matter what."

Harold sighed. "I think you're wasting your time, but I'll see where they go."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thanks for the comments, zenfrodo, unobtrusive, Caranath, Jackie, Vinsmouse, bhar and leya! They're very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5

Joe knew the exchange with Mrs. Sanders had upset Emily. He was proud of her for holding it together until they'd left the one-story brick building housing the adoption agency, and headed for their car. Then her tears began to fall.

He stopped in the parking lot and pulled Emily into his arms. "Honey," he said softly, running his hands over her back. "Shh, it's okay."

"Oh, Joe," she choked out. "That was horrible."

"I know," he murmured. "I wouldn't leave a cat with that woman, let alone my child. Come on, let's get out of here."

As he opened the passenger door of the Honda and helped her in, he caught a glimpse of a man getting into a nearby sedan. He didn't recall seeing him in the building, but he'd obviously just come from there. Joe sat in the driver's seat and started the engine, turning to Emily. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, as Joe began pulling the car out of the parking lot. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. She started asking me all those questions, and for some reason, it felt so real, and then the baby started kicking, and..." Emily sniffled and looked up at him. "It's stupid, isn't it?"

Joe reached over and squeezed her hand as he glanced in the rearview mirror. The guy was right on his tail. Not very subtle. "No, it's not stupid at all. Honey, don't turn around. I think we're being followed."

"What?" Emily looked worried. "Why, Joe?"

"I don't know yet. Let me try something."

He drove a few miles, then said, "I'm going into this fast food drive-through. If he's still with us after that, then we'll know something's fishy. What do you want, babe?"

Emily peered at the menu board through the driver's side window as Joe pulled up next to it. "Um, I don't know. A grilled chicken sandwich?"

Joe placed her order and added his own, then drove to the pick-up window. He paid for the food, handed it to Emily and said, "Keep an eye on that blue sedan in your side mirror."

She nodded, casually eating a French fry as they pulled onto the street. The sedan waited a moment, then pulled out as well.

Joe shook his head. This clown, whoever he was, was a total amateur. "Okay, that does it. We're going to lose him. Hang on."

Emily braced herself as Joe quickly maneuvered the little Honda in and out of traffic and through a busy strip mall parking lot. He exited through the back of the lot and turned into a neighborhood, driving up and down several streets in a random pattern.

"I don't see him anymore," Emily called out, as she glanced at her side mirror.

"Yeah, I don't either." Joe grinned. "He wasn't very good."

Emily fed him a French fry. "No, it's just that you're _too_ good."

Joe chuckled. "Yeah, you're right."

"And you're modest, as well," she teased.

Joe pulled out onto the main road. He didn't think he and Emily had given anything away at the agency, but someone there obviously wanted to know more about them. "I still don't see him, but I'll feel better when we get to our hotel."

Emily nodded, feeding him another French fry. "Me, too."

He grinned at her. "Did you have something in mind?"

She smiled coyly at him. "You'll see."

That definitely sounded promising. Joe stepped on the gas, accelerating into the stream of traffic. "Then let's get going."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy was lounging on the sofa in front of the gas fireplace in her hotel room, going over the information in the dossier, while Frank wheeled a room service cart over to her.

"Dinner is served," he announced, removing the cover from a silver tray with a flourish.

Nancy peered at the lobster tail and filet mignon on the plates and sighed. "I could definitely get used to this."

Frank chuckled as he set her food on the coffee table in front of her. "Yeah, me, too."

As he got his own plate and took a seat next to her on the couch, he looked down at the dossier. "So, what do you think?"

Their cover required that they pose as a pair of uber rich, spoiled snobs. A couple used to buying their way in the world without an ounce of regard for anyone else. As far as Nancy was concerned, they were a pair with too much money and too little sense.

"I think we are two of the most obnoxious people on the planet," she said. "Have you read this stuff?"

"I'm afraid so," Frank replied, dipping a piece of his lobster in melted butter.

"We certainly don't deserve to have a child, we'd be horrible parents." Nancy tossed the dossier down next to her and reached for her dinner.

"I guess that's part of the strategy." Frank smiled. "See if this place is willing to give us a baby."

"Sell us a baby," she corrected. And based on that dossier profile, they would be just the kind of couple to try and buy one. She shuddered.

"Yeah." Frank shook his head. "I wonder how Joe and Emily did? They had an appointment there this afternoon."

"Is there any way we can contact them?"

Frank nodded as he took another bite of lobster. "We can call them tonight. The phones are clean and their room has been swept. They're more worried about Emily and Joe being followed than us, so they have agents staying at their hotel."

"Do they think these people are sophisticated enough to bug hotel rooms?"

"Not really, but you know the government." He grinned at her and took a sip of champagne. "And Emily's in a precarious position. Who knows what would happen if these people found out she wasn't really pregnant?"

Nancy nodded, taking a bite of her own lobster. "How's Joe doing as an expectant father?"

Frank put his glass down. "Surprisingly well. I actually think he likes it."

"You're kidding." Nancy looked over at him. "Joe?" Because the last thing Nancy could imagine was Joe Hardy, former playboy of the eastern seaboard, as an expectant father. Well, a happy expectant father, anyway.

"Yeah, it's weird." He chuckled and popped a piece of filet mignon in his mouth. "And Emily really looks pregnant. Wait until you see them together."

She smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

OOOoooOOO

Harold Sanders strode back into the adoption agency.

"Well?" his wife asked as he entered her office.

"He got away," he stated dully.

"He _what_?" Eugenia Sanders rose from her desk, glaring at her husband. "How could you let that happen?"

"The kid can drive, darling, what can I say?" Harold sank into the chair in front of her desk.

"Did he know you were following him?"

"I don't think so." Harold waved his hand absently. "They stopped at a fast food restaurant, and after they drove away from the pick-up window, I lost them."

Eugenia drummed her fingernails on the desk again. Harold shuddered at the click, click, clicking sound.

"They're coming back tomorrow, right?" he asked his wife.

"There's no guarantee." Her gray eyes were icy as she stared at her husband. "I want that baby, Harold. I _will_ have that baby."

Harold was weary. Once his wife got an idea into her head, there was very little he could do to change her mind. "Eugenia dear, let's be rational about this. She's not like any of the other little waifs who wander in here scared and alone. The child's father is with her. And he is not going to turn that baby over to you."

"I might be able to persuade him." She gave him a smile like the Cheshire cat from _Alice in Wonderland_.

Harold snorted. "Eugenia, he loves that girl. I'm telling you, it won't work. He wants to keep their baby."

"Well, if he won't listen to reason, we'll just have to try something else, won't we?" Her fingernails resumed their drumming on the desk.

Harold closed his eyes wearily. "Yes, dear."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, zenfrodo, caranath, unobtrusive, Jackie, leya, Maddi, Vinsmouse and bhar! A breather (and some Joe fluff) in this chapter before diving right back into the investigation in the next. Thanks to all who are reading and have put the story on alert. I really appreciate it!

Chapter 6

Emily held open the door to their hotel room as Joe carried the suitcases inside and set them in front of the dresser.

"It's your basic hotel room," he said with obvious disappointment.

"Well honey, we're just poor college students, remember?" Emily carried their fast food bags over to the table and began removing the contents. "We're lucky we can even afford this."

Joe strolled over and took a seat. "Hey, what happened to my fries?"

She giggled. "You ate them all in the car. Here, have mine." She set them in front of him.

"No, that's okay." He unwrapped his burger and took a bite, while Emily sat in the chair opposite him and got out her chicken sandwich.

"Do you think Frank and Nancy are here yet?" she asked.

Joe nodded, grabbing two of Emily's fries. "I'm sure they are."

She smiled knowingly as she opened a ketchup packet for him. Joe's fry reflex was automatic.

"I hope they have a better experience at that place than we did." Emily shuddered a little, as she thought of Mrs. Sanders. She'd felt like a canary under the watchful eye of a very large cat in there. A cat who was about to pounce.

"I'm sure it's different if you're on the buying end," Joe said, dipping three more fries into the ketchup before he ate them.

"That sounds so horrible." She pushed her sandwich away, feeling a little nauseated at the thought of someone making a profit by selling another human being. "I can't think of anything more cruel."

Joe set his burger down and reached for Emily's hand. "Hey."

She looked up and tried to put on a brave face. She'd pushed him into letting her be a part of this case, and she didn't want him thinking she was being a wimp about the whole thing.

"Don't worry. We're going to put a stop to this," Joe assured her.

Emily nodded.

"We'll blow this whole baby selling thing right out of the water, and find Amy, too." He squeezed her hand. "Now finish your sandwich. Our baby's hungry."

Emily couldn't help giggling as she reached for her lunch. She sat silently for a moment and watched Joe eat the last of her French fries. "Joe?"

"Hmm?"

"Where do you think Amy is?"

He shrugged. "I'm guessing they've got her in that dormitory or wherever it is they imprison these girls until their due date."

Emily couldn't even imagine how horrific that would be. She'd felt very vulnerable just wearing her fake pregnancy tummy. But to be fifteen years old, away from home, and at the mercy of some stranger who was intent on stealing your baby?

"Amy has to be terrified. I can't imagine anything more scary than knowing someone is going to sell your newborn and take her away from you forever."

"Yeah, well, I think Mrs. Sanders would've had you in her little prison in ten seconds if you'd gone to the agency alone."

Emily caught the flash of anger in Joe's eyes as he spoke. "I know. Sadly, I think most girls probably do go in there alone." Alone, vulnerable, frightened out of their minds…the perfect victims.

"Yeah." Joe glanced at Emily as she finished her sandwich. "I would never let you do that."

She turned to him with a smile on her face, grateful beyond words that she'd managed to find someone like Joe to share her life with. "I know you wouldn't."

He patted his knee, and Emily slid over onto his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. Joe wrapped his arms around her tightly, and they stayed like that for a moment without saying anything. Finally, Emily spoke. "Do you think Mrs. Sanders believed us?"

"I definitely think she believed us," he said. "You were very convincing."

"I was very nervous. She was intimidating. The way she kept firing questions at me...it was kind of scary."

"You were perfect." Joe rubbed his hand along her back. "And honey, you really surprised me when you said you had a name for our baby."

Emily kissed his cheek. "I hope that was okay. Did you mind that I wanted to call her Laura?" She'd been nervous about mentioning Laura's name at the agency, but it felt so right to her. She knew it was the perfect name for their little girl. And hopefully, one day, they would have that little girl.

"Mind?" Joe placed his hand on her abdomen. "Are you kidding?" He paused for a moment, and she could tell he was struggling with his emotions. "Em, that was the nicest thing you could have done."

"I meant it," she said softly. "If this baby were real, I would want to name her Laura."

He pulled her to him tightly. "Thank you, sweetheart," he choked out. "I hope someday we do have a baby girl."

As he spoke, Emily felt the 'baby' kick against his hand. Joe chuckled. "I guess that's a good sign we will."

She felt three more kicks in quick succession and watched as Joe's hand jumped against the pregnancy tummy in response to them.

"Well, she's certainly busy today," he said.

Emily giggled. "I think she recognizes her daddy's voice."

Joe grinned at her. "Maybe she does." He pulled Emily into him, kissing her tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you back," she replied, kissing him deeply. The baby kicked again, harder this time. "She loves you, too."

OOO

A ringing telephone interrupted them. Emily stood and Joe walked over to the night stand. "Hello? Oh, hi, Frank."

"How did it go today?" Frank asked.

Joe sat on the bed. "Interesting. This woman, Mrs. Sanders, owns the place. Anyway, she's got quite a racket going."

He explained in detail what happened at the agency, while Emily cleaned up their fast food dinner. He watched as she pulled the curtains closed, opened her suitcase, removed something satiny, and draped it over the back of a chair.

She smiled at him as she tugged on the bed covers. Joe stood up, while she turned them down and fluffed up the pillows. She slipped off her shoes, then slowly unbuttoned her shirt. Joe's eyes widened as she removed it, exposing a lacy bra.

"Um, Frank, I've got to go. I'll call you back, okay?" He hung up, Frank's voice still echoing in his ear. "What are you doing?" he asked Emily, walking over to her.

She smiled slyly at him. "Oh, well, see the baby decided it would be good for me to spend some time alone with Daddy, so she's agreed to sleep by herself."

"Is that right?" Joe responded with a smile of his own.

"Yes." Emily slid off her maternity shorts. "So, will you help me with this?" She turned so he could unfasten the straps holding the pregnancy belly around her body.

Joe chuckled. "A removable baby. How convenient."

He undid the straps, and Emily sucked in a deep breath of air.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much," she said. "And I'm sure I look better, too."

"You look beautiful either way." Joe set the pregnancy tummy on the chair, and turned to gaze at Emily. "Wow," he breathed.

She blushed and gestured to the satiny fabric on the back of the chair. "You haven't even seen the new purchase from my shopping trip the other day."

"Save it for later," Joe told her, moving closer. "I like what I'm seeing right now." He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him.

She giggled. "Um, I can tell."

"Oh, can you?" Joe stepped back and yanked off his t-shirt. He held her against his bare chest and groaned. "Mmm, I want you." He kissed her deeply as he walked her to the edge of the bed, then gently laid her across it.

She reached up for him as he leaned forward.

"I want you more," she whispered, her hands running over his shoulders and down his arms. He could hear the note of urgency in her voice and he loved it. He bent his head and fed her hot, slow kisses until his desire for her turned into desperation.

With a groan, Joe forced himself to pull away and stood shakily, his breath ragged, as unbuttoned his jeans and stripped them off as quickly as possible...unwilling to keep his hands off her for more than a second or two.

Emily watched him with a seductive smile that made his pulse race, and he took a deep breath to try and slow it down.

She was so damned beautiful.

He covered her with his body, resting his weight on his elbows and staring into her green eyes. He could see how much she loved him, and the wave of emotion that crashed over him in response, brought a burning sensation to the back of his eyes that felt almost like tears.

"Joe." Emily breathed his name as she squirmed restlessly beneath him and ran her hands over his chest and abdomen.

Heat exploded through him at her touch. He hissed out a breath as her hands traveled across his stomach, then around to his backside. He lowered himself down, taking her mouth in a hungry, wet kiss.

She arched her body into his while his tongue traced the delicate line of her throat, up to the tender spot behind her ear. Joe felt her shiver of excitement as he pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck, savoring the feel of her soft skin against his.

"I need you, Emily," he whispered in her ear. "So much, baby."

She moaned softly in response, and Joe bade a willing goodbye to what was left of his self-control.

He slipped his tongue into her mouth, the sweet, warm taste of her filling his senses. This need to be with her, to be one, had become elemental to him. As essential as the air he breathed.

"Oh, Joe," she murmured with a shaky sigh as they broke apart.

Her eyelids were heavy with passion, her lips swollen from kissing and her hair spread out over the pillow in a glorious tangle. His sexy angel.

His breath hitched as she leaned back slightly and brought her hands to the front closure of her bra.

"Please, Joe."

A groan rose deep from within him as she unfastened the clasp. He could only feel. How much he loved this woman. How much he wanted her forever. How he knew she belonged to him.

He bent his head down, crushing his mouth to hers.

_Mine._

_She is mine_.

OOOoooOOO

"He hung up on me," Frank said, as he walked over to Nancy, who was staring out the window at the moon rising over Mirror Lake.

"Why?" She turned around. "Is something wrong?"

"No." He grinned at her. "I think Emily was distracting him."

Nancy nodded. "I see. And how long will he be distracted?"

Frank glanced down at his watch. "I'll call him back in a couple of hours."

"Two hours?"

"This is Joe we're talking about here." He stepped behind Nancy and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close against his chest. He nuzzled her neck, kissed her tenderly and breathed in her slightly floral scent that made him crazy. He missed her so much when they were apart, and he loved being able to spend this time with her completely alone.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, gazing out the window.

"Yes, it is," he replied, looking down at her.

"I meant the view," she scolded.

"My view's pretty good." Frank kissed her shoulder.

"Did Joe say anything about what happened today?"

"Yeah. He told me he didn't have good feelings about the place at all." Frank took Nancy by the hand and led her to the sofa. "Apparently they take all the pregnant girls who agree to relinquish their babies, and make them live in some dormitory or something."

"So, that must be where Amy is."

"That's my guess." Frank pulled her down on his lap. "Joe and Emily have another appointment tomorrow afternoon."

"But they're not going to agree to give up their baby, right?"

"The feds think that might be a little dangerous," he explained. "If the adoption people find out Emily's faking her pregnancy, it blows the cover off the whole investigation."

"So, what are they trying to do?"

"Seeing if they can get some more information on where this house might be." Frank leaned back on the couch. "Maybe they can even get a tour or something."

"Or maybe we can," Nancy said. "I guess we'll have to play it by ear."

He exhaled slowly. "Yeah, this is going to be a really different kind of case. We're going to have to do some serious acting, you know."

"I know. I hope I don't blow it."

Frank put his arm around and drew her into him. "You'll be spectacular," he told her, as she rested her head on his shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you for the reviews, Caranath, Jackie, unobtrusive, zenfrodo, vinsmouse, bhar and leya! Back to the mystery in this chapter. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7

At exactly two p.m. the next day, Frank and Nancy walked through the door of "A Mother's Love" adoption agency.

"Mr. and Mrs. Frank Callister," Frank announced to the receptionist.

"Yes, of course. Mrs. Sanders is expecting you." She stood from her desk. "Please follow me."

She escorted them to an office with a nameplate on the door that read "Eugenia Sanders."

Frank recalled that Joe had mentioned Mrs. Sanders yesterday as the owner, and the woman with whom he and Emily had spoken. Good. They could compare notes.

The receptionist gave a light tap on the door as she opened it. The woman sitting behind the desk, whom Frank assumed was Mrs. Sanders, rose to her feet as soon as they entered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Callister, how nice to meet you," she said effusively. "I'm so happy you've decided to pursue adoption through our agency."

Frank and Nancy shook her hand in turn, then sat in the chairs in front of her desk.

"Now, how may we help you?" she asked, the smile still wide on her face.

"Well, of course we'd love to have a child of our own," Nancy began, crossing her legs and fiddling with the expensive bracelets dangling from her wrists.

"Oh, I'm so sorry you've had difficulty conceiving," Mrs. Sanders said sympathetically.

"Oh, it's not that." Nancy waved her hand. "It's just that it's not convenient for me to be pregnant right now."

"My wife is a very busy woman," Frank added, brushing some invisible lint off his designer suit.

"Yes, I'm sure she is," Mrs. Sanders said.

"It's extremely important that she be able to maintain her position in our circle," Frank explained. "Her social duties and her charity work are paramount. It's crucial to my business."

Frank knew he sounded like an ass...he just hoped he was a convincing one.

"And I'm afraid a pregnancy would interfere a bit too much." Nancy gave her an insincere smile. "Not to mention it would absolutely ruin my figure."

Mrs. Sanders blinked for a moment, but recovered quickly and reached for a pen and paper. "Yes, well of course, I understand completely. Now, what sort of time frame are we looking at? When were you interested in bringing a baby home?"

Nancy turned to Frank. "Well dear, it couldn't possibly be before September. We have the entire summer in the Hamptons, you know."

Frank nodded. "True, and then I have that huge client meeting and trip to Europe in October." He paused. "What about around the holidays? That might be fun."

Nancy smiled at Frank. "Of course, darling, a baby in time for Christmas. How perfect." She looked at Mrs. Sanders. "Could we pick one up then?"

"Well, uh, it doesn't work exactly like that, but I'm sure we could arrange something that would be compatible with your schedule," Mrs. Sanders replied. She shuffled through some papers on her desk, then glanced at Frank and Nancy. "Let me get some information from you. Do you have a preference as to the sex of the baby?"

"I think my wife would like a girl," Frank stated.

"You can buy much cuter clothes," Nancy said with a smile.

And if that didn't convince Mrs. Sanders that they were the two most shallow people on earth, Frank didn't know what would.

"Of course." Mrs. Sanders made a notation on her paper. "Well, we have several young women who are seeking to place their babies. I can get you information on the mothers, including their health records, physical descriptions of both parents, and personal files, stating their likes and dislikes, hobbies, strengths, talents, that sort of thing."

"Don't we get to meet the mothers?" Frank asked.

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Sanders replied. "We deal strictly in closed adoptions at this agency."

Which was a perfect cover for hiding girls being held against their will. Joe was right. This woman was guilty. He could feel it, too. Now he just needed to confirm his suspicions.

Nancy sighed as she brushed her hand over her French twist hairstyle. "I'm not really sure that would work for us. I'm going to need to actually meet the person I'm taking a baby from. I have to see if she's...well...suitable."

Frank reached for his checkbook. "We're prepared to pay whatever amount is required. But we do insist that things be arranged on our terms."

Mrs. Sanders glanced at his checkbook and at the file she had on her desk. "Well, I'm sure we can work something out."

Frank smiled at Nancy knowing she was thinking exactly the same thing he was. Suspicions confirmed.

OOOoooOOO

A loud boom of thunder echoed overhead, and the rain poured down, pelting the windows of the agency as Joe rushed with Emily to the front door. He opened it quickly, and gave her a gentle push inside.

Emily laughed as they stumbled through the doorway, and Joe pulled her toward him for an impulsive kiss.

He took her hand as they stepped into the waiting area. "Hi," Joe said to the same receptionist who had greeted them yesterday. "We're here to meet with Mrs. Sanders."

The receptionist looked around nervously. She gestured to Joe and Emily and they followed her as she walked away from her desk. She led them to a little area off the waiting room. "Don't do it," she hissed.

"Don't do what?" Joe asked.

"Don't give up your baby," she said. Her eyes had a pleading look. "You're...you're too much in love. You'll always regret it."

Emily smiled. "We're not going to. We want to keep her."

The receptionist looked relieved. "Good. Then get out of here."

"Why?" Joe asked. "We want to explain it all to Mrs. Sanders." This girl was afraid, he thought. Did she know what was going on here?

The receptionist shook her head. "Don't. She has this way of..." She paused.

"What?" Joe prodded.

"I'm worried she'll talk you into it."

"She won't," he assured her.

"Please don't sign anything, not anything." She grabbed Joe's arm and gestured to Emily. "And whatever you do, don't leave her side. Don't let them take her away from you. Not for one second. Please."

"What on earth is going on around here?" Joe demanded. Yeah, this girl knew. Now he had to figure out how to get her to confide in him. If she was on their side, they could bust this case wide open in a day or two.

"Please," the receptionist urged.

A voice echoed from the waiting room. "Jodie?"

Shit. He wouldn't be able to get any information now. But he was definitely going to question the receptionist later. Maybe the feds could put a tail on her and find out where she lived. That might be easier.

"In here, Mrs. Sanders," Jodie called. "I was just getting the door for Joe and Emily. That rain sure is something out there."

"Yes, it is. Nice to see you again, Joe. Emily." Mrs. Sanders began walking. "Would you follow me this way?"

Emily looked at Joe with a frightened expression. He smiled reassuringly as he put his arm around her. Mrs. Sanders led them to a down a different corridor than yesterday and into a conference room...where they found themselves face to face with Frank and Nancy.

"Joe, Emily, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Callister."

Joe glanced at his brother clad in an expensive designer suit, and at Nancy in her elegant skirt and blouse, with diamonds everywhere he looked, and raised an eyebrow. He reached out his hand to shake Frank's. "Joe Fredericks."

Nancy couldn't seem to take her eyes off Emily's mid-section. "I'm Nancy Callister," she finally said.

"Nice to meet you," Emily replied.

Joe turned to Mrs. Sanders. "What's all this about?"

Mrs. Sanders cleared her throat and gestured for Joe and Emily to take a seat around the small conference table. When everyone was in place, she said, "Joe and Emily, Mr. and Mrs. Callister are interested in adopting a baby girl. They'd like to ask you a few questions."

Emily's hands hovered instinctively over her abdomen, and she turned to Nancy with wide eyes. "You want my baby?"

Joe's protective nature kicked in and he wrapped a comforting arm around his girlfriend.

"Well, aren't you putting her up for adoption?" Nancy asked.

Joe gave Nancy what he hoped was a defiant look. "We're not completely sure about that."

Mrs. Sanders cleared her throat again. "Joe, I don't think it would hurt for you to listen to what Mr. and Mrs. Callister have to say. They could give your daughter the kind of life you can only dream about at the moment."

Joe gazed at Frank and Nancy for a moment. "Fine."

"Okay, well, I do have a list of questions." Nancy pulled a leather covered notebook out of a designer tote bag. "Emily, what is your family like?"

"Um, well, my dad is an architect," she began. "My mom stays at home. I have two older sisters."

"Good. So, an upper middle class background, then?" Nancy asked, making a notation with her fountain pen.

"I suppose."

"And you're both in college?"

"Yes," Emily answered. "I'm majoring in Art History and French."

Nancy smiled. "Excellent." She looked at Joe. "And you?"

"Criminal Justice."

"Hmmm." A slight frown crossed Nancy's face as she wrote something else down. "Okay, well, I think most of my other questions have been answered looking at your file here." She glanced up. "There is just one more thing, and I don't mean to be rude, but I do need to know."

She took a deep breath. "Emily, have you had sex with anyone else other than Joe in the past six months?"

Joe rose from his seat glaring at Nancy. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"I think it's a very valid question, Mr. Fredericks," Nancy said. "As a potential adoptive mother, I think I need to be sure of the child's paternity to avoid any legal issues that might come up in the future."

Joe felt Emily's hand on his arm and he dropped back into his seat.

"Joe is the only man I've ever been with. Ever," Emily said.

"Thank you, Miss Clark," Nancy replied. She snapped her leather notebook closed. "That's all I have."

"Well, of course, if Joe and Emily want to pursue this, we would have her examined by our staff doctor and place her in our dormitory, so you can be assured of her well-being for the remainder of her pregnancy."

Nancy smiled at Mrs. Sanders. "Oh, I'm sorry, that's not really acceptable. If Emily chooses to do this, I would take her to the city to be under the care of my own personal physician."

"Well, that's not quite how we do things here," Mrs. Sanders said.

"No, that's how we do things," Frank spoke up.

"Of course, maybe if we had a look at your facilities." Nancy turned to Frank. "It would be easier if she stayed here, darling. We _will _be in the Hamptons all summer long."

Joe rolled his eyes. She was laying it on thick.

Frank nodded. "That's true."

"Yes, Mrs. Sanders, we've decided," Nancy said. "We'd like to see your dormitory, and then we can let you know if it's acceptable to us."

Mrs. Sanders gave her an icy smile. "I'm sorry, we don't allow the potential adoptive parents near the birth mothers. That just wouldn't be possible."

"Really?" Frank asked as he signed his name to a check, then ripped it out with a flourish and handed it to Mrs. Sanders.

Asshole, Joe thought.

Her eyes widened when she looked at it. "Well, perhaps something could be arranged."

"What the hell is wrong with you people?"

Everyone turned to Joe.

"I didn't say anybody could have my baby." He slid his arm around Emily's shoulders again. "And I'm certainly not selling her to the highest bidder."

"Of course not," Mrs. Sanders said in a soothing voice. "We don't sell babies, Mr. Fredericks. However, the cost of housing an expectant mother and caring for her needs is enormous." She nodded at Frank and Nancy. "Mr. and Mrs. Callister are simply making a down payment on that sum."

"And like I said, we haven't made a decision on adoption yet." Joe placed his hand gently on Emily's stomach. "If you want to know the truth, we're leaning toward keeping our daughter."

Mrs. Sanders sighed. "I know you think you're capable of raising her, but is that realistic given your circumstances? You're struggling college students, you're not married, you're essentially unemployed, you have no insurance...how is that going to be the best thing for your daughter?"

"We love her," Emily said softly.

"I know you do," Mrs. Sanders said, her jaw clenched in obvious frustration, although her tone remained gentle. "But dear, you need to stop thinking like that. I really wish you hadn't given her a name, that will only make things more difficult for you."

"You've named her?" Nancy asked.

"Yes," Emily replied. "Her name is Laura."

Frank's head snapped up.

"Emily chose it," Joe said hastily, catching his brother's eye and answering his unspoken question.

"Well, I think it's a beautiful name," Frank managed to reply in an even tone.

"Um, Mrs. Sanders, do you think we might have some time alone with Joe and Emily?" Nancy asked. "I feel if they got to know us a little better, they might be more comfortable discussing adoption."

"Mrs. Callister, it is not our policy to allow birth mothers and adoptive parents to fraternize with each other," Mrs. Sanders stated. "We've found it causes more difficulties in the long run. The less contact you have with each other, the better."

"Frank?" Nancy turned to him, and Frank pulled out his checkbook and wrote another check.

Joe snorted in disgust.

As he handed it to Mrs. Sanders, she replied, "Well, maybe just this once."

"Great, where can we go?" Frank asked.

"There's a small ice cream shop down the road a bit," she gestured. "It's quaint, only open in the summer, and the ice cream is good."

Nancy nodded. "Sounds perfect." She turned to Emily and Joe. "Is that okay with you?"

"If you're buying," Joe said.

"Of course," Nancy replied.

"Then lead the way." Joe stood up and took Emily's hand in his as they stepped into the hallway. The receptionist gave them a nervous glance as they walked outside, and Joe made a mental note to have an agent tail her when she left the office tonight.

OOO

Mrs. Sanders paused by the conference room table, and her husband soon appeared behind her.

"Well, darling, if we can get this to work, I'd say we've hit the mother lode," he said with a chuckle.

"Yes," Mrs. Sanders agreed. "Follow them. And make sure you don't lose them this time, Harold."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Thank you for reviewing, Caranath, unobtrusive, Lilith, Jackie, Vinsmouse, bhar, zenfrodo and Leya! I loved reading what you had to say! Hopefully a little fun in this chapter. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 8

The thunderstorm had stopped and the sun was shining brilliantly, although the puddles were plentiful in the parking lot of the adoption agency. Joe stopped short as he saw Frank strolling over to a black Porsche 911 Carrera. "Don't even tell me this is your car."

Frank grinned from ear to ear. "Yes, it is. Do you like sports cars, Joe?"

Joe shot him a look. "I like this one, Mr. Callister."

"Well, I'm sorry I can't let you ride in it right now, but I'm afraid we won't all fit." Frank shrugged his shoulders as he held the door open for Nancy. "Maybe another time."

Joe stood silently glaring as Frank hopped in and started the engine. It purred like a kitten. He felt Emily gently tugging on his arm, leading him over to their Honda.

As he got in the driver's seat, he turned to her. "Do you see what he's driving? Do you see that?"

She ran her hand along his arm soothingly as he looked out the window.

"Unbelievable." He shook his head. "Frank can't appreciate a machine like that. Honey, do you know how long I've wanted to drive that kind of car?"

Joe backed out of the parking space. "Do you have any idea how well that performs on the road? Frank's already there. That's how well it performs. Even with his crappy, slow driving, he's already there."

He glanced over at his girlfriend who had ducked her head, obviously trying to hide her smile. _She thinks this is funny. __How is this funny? _

"And you know what's worse? He's going to continue to drive that car in his crappy way for the rest of this case." Joe snorted in disgust. "Tell me how that's fair."

"It's not, sweetheart," she sympathized.

"Damn right it's not." Joe pulled into the ice cream place. "See, I told you. They're already inside."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Try not to let it get to you. We still have to find Amy, remember?"

Joe's face softened as he looked into her eyes. "Yeah, I remember." He exited the car, then came and opened her door, helping her out of the vehicle. "So," he said with a smile, putting his car envy behind him for the moment, "what kind of ice cream does our baby want?"

Emily giggled. "Hmm, mint chocolate chip and strawberry."

Joe raised his eyebrows. "That's different."

"I'm pregnant, honey," she reminded him. "Cravings."

"Ah." Joe grinned as they stepped into the shop.

Frank and Nancy turned to them, smiling. "Well, Joe and Emily, what can we get you?"

"I'll have a double scoop of Rocky Road. She wants strawberry and mint chip." Joe chuckled at Frank's expression. "Cravings."

Frank nodded and Joe followed him up to the counter to place their orders.

OOO

Nancy led Emily to a secluded table in the back of the restaurant.

"Wow, Em," she whispered. "I can't believe how...how _pregnant _you look."

Emily smiled. "I think that's the whole idea."

Nancy shook her head. "I don't know what I was expecting, but you really shocked me when you walked into that conference room."

Frank and Joe rounded the corner, each holding two cones. "Here you go, honey," Frank said, handing one to Nancy.

"So," Joe began. "Did the dossier tell you guys that you had to be the two biggest jackasses that ever lived, or was that your idea?"

"Not my idea," Frank said in a low voice.

"Mine either." Nancy rolled her eyes.

"Nice rock," Joe smirked, pointing to the ring on Nancy's left hand.

"Tell me about it." She shook her head. "It's so huge, it actually gets in my way."

"How are you feeling, Em?" Frank asked.

"Fine," she replied, licking her cone. "I'm used to the baby now."

"Is she still kicking as hard as her father would have?"

"Every day," Emily said with a smile.

"Kicking? What are you talking about?" Nancy asked.

"You haven't felt the baby yet?" Frank chuckled. "Touch her stomach."

"Go ahead." Emily leaned back, and Nancy placed her hand on Emily's abdomen. Presently, the baby gave a sharp kick. Nancy jumped back startled, almost dropping her ice cream cone.

"You're not...I mean, you're not really..." She looked at Joe. "Did you do that for real?"

Joe grinned at her. "I'm the daddy, Nance, if that's what you're asking."

Emily slapped Joe lightly on the arm. "It's not real. It is super high tech though."

Nancy exhaled in relief. "You had me there for a minute."

Joe sat up straight and looked sharply at a man entering the shop. "That's the guy who tailed us yesterday."

"Tailed you?" Frank turned his head.

"Yeah, from the adoption agency."

Nancy watched as the middle-aged man stepped to the counter and placed an order. She didn't recall seeing him anywhere at the agency and figured he must work behind the scenes for Mrs. Sanders.

"I managed to lose him, even though I wasn't driving a Porsche." Joe flashed a smug look in Frank's direction.

Frank turned pointedly away from his brother. "I wonder what he's after?"

"I don't know, but we're going to have to go back to being Mr. and Mrs. Jackass for the moment," Nancy said.

They chit chatted as the man took a seat near their table.

"Oh yeah, he's clearly here to spy on us," Frank whispered.

Nancy nodded, and slipped back into the personality of the snotty Mrs. Callister. "Emily, tell me about your plans after you graduate from school."

"Well," Emily began. "I'd like to work in a museum somewhere. Or maybe an auction house."

"Hmm." Nancy watched in her peripheral vision as the man leaned back in his chair, clearly eavesdropping on their conversation. "And how do you think you'll be able to do that and take care of a baby?"

"I'm not sure," Emily answered. "She would be my first priority. I guess if that means I have to put my own dreams on hold, then I will."

Frank spoke up. "But you'd be putting your daughter's dreams on hold as well. You're not going to be able to afford the things she needs."

"We could give her advantages in life the two of you clearly can't," Nancy added. "She would never want for anything."

Joe took a bite of his ice cream cone. "You could give her material things, yeah. But you couldn't love her more than Emily and I do."

Nancy tried to look irritated as she turned to Joe. "You're not married. You can't even give your daughter your name, let alone buy her warm clothes for the winter, or a car seat, or a crib, or any of the dozens of other things a new baby needs. As parents, you'd be completely incompetent and totally unprepared."

She felt awful when she saw tears spring to Emily's eyes, but she didn't want to break character...she was afraid their eavesdropping amateur spy might notice.

Joe's voice was harsh as he took Emily by the hand and stood from his chair. "Mrs. Callister, you may be rich and you may be important and you may have friends in high places, but you would be the absolute last woman on earth I would give my daughter to. Nobody would make a better mother than Emily. You got that?"

"Now Joe," Frank said. "Please don't misunderstand. My wife is just concerned that your baby have the best life possible."

"She will, as long as we keep her away from you." He turned and strode purposefully out of the shop with Emily in tow.

Frank squeezed Nancy's hand. "I'll go talk to him, darling."

Nancy nodded, as Frank walked away. She turned to get a full view of the man at the nearby table, so she could commit it to memory. She watched as he stood, then hurriedly followed Joe, Emily and Frank out of the ice cream parlour. _He really has no idea what he's doing,_ she thought with a chuckle.

OOO

Frank was talking to Joe near the Porsche when he spotted their suspect coming through the door. He nudged his brother and whispered, "Let's try to lure him after us and lose him. The girls will be safe in a place this busy."

Joe nodded and ran his hand along the hood of the car.

Frank waited until their suspect got within earshot. "So Joe, what do you say we take a ride in my car for a little bit? I'll show you how she runs."

Joe grinned. "Yeah, that'd be great, Mr. Callister. I'd love a chance to drive something like that."

"I didn't say anything about _driving_ it, Joe." Frank glared at him.

"Okay, well, we'll see you later then." Joe turned and started to walk toward the Honda.

"Fine," Frank said with a sigh. "But be careful, please."

Still grinning, Joe took the keys from Frank's hand. "Let's go."

As soon as they got in the car and shut the doors, Frank turned to Joe. "Listen, you've got to take it easy in this. If anything happens to this car..."

"Put your seat belt on, Frank," Joe ordered as he started the engine. "Man, listen to that. Smooth as silk."

Frank braced himself as Joe threw it in reverse and backed out of the parking space. He raised his eyebrows at Frank as he shifted gears.

"Joe," Frank warned.

"Seat belt," Joe repeated, pressing his foot to the accelerator.

OOO

"He's just like a little kid, isn't he?" Nancy whispered to Emily as she strolled up next to her in the parking lot.

"Completely." Emily smiled and waved as Joe pulled out onto the main road, tires squealing.

OOO

Frank had both his feet pushed into the floorboard with one hand braced on the door, and the other on the dashboard as Joe took off down the main road.

"Man, this is sweet," Joe said. "I can't believe the agency gave you a car like this."

"And I can't believe I actually let you get behind the wheel," Frank grumbled.

"You've got to drive her the way she was meant to be driven, bro," Joe said, shifting gears again. "She needs the right touch." He smiled at Frank. "Just like a woman. Then you get the response you want."

"You'd better not ever let Emily hear you say that." He gritted his teeth as Joe turned a corner.

"Look at how she hugs the road." Joe patted the steering wheel. "Perfection."

Frank slammed hard into the door, in spite of his seat belt. "Um, Joe, I hate to ruin your fun, but we have a case we need to talk about."

"So talk," Joe said, as he drove down a winding back road and let loose.

"I can't really think when I'm afraid for my life." Frank closed his eyes as they whipped around a tight curve. "Think you could slow it down to under eighty?"

Joe shifted down and looked at Frank. "You can relax now. I just wanted to see what she could do."

Frank released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He let go of the dashboard and turned to Joe. "So, how do you want to go about finding Amy?"

"Well, I think Mrs. Sanders is obviously holding her in that...what does she call it? Dormitory?"

"Yeah, but somehow I think it's more like a prison." Frank sighed. "One of us needs to get in there, and frankly, I think it's too dangerous for Emily."

"No kidding," Joe snorted. "Mrs. Sanders looks at her like she's a piece of meat. I don't even want to let go of her when we're in that place."

Frank nodded. "Then Nancy and I will try."

"Are you just going to keep writing her checks?" Joe chuckled. "The agency will love that."

"It's in the budget. And it's appealing to her sense of greed."

"No shit." Joe turned another corner, more slowly this time. "And I've got to hand it to you. You guys are good. I've wanted to punch your lights out more than once today."

Frank chuckled. "Try not to let Nan get to you. She doesn't mean what she says. She's just playing a part."

"And she's good at it." Joe sped up to take a dip in the road.

"So what's the story with the goon who's been following you?" Frank asked, his head bouncing off the roof of the car.

"Obviously someone who works for Mrs. Sanders, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Maybe she wants to make sure we're not making any deals for your baby behind her back."

Joe shifted again. "Probably. He came up behind us a few miles ago, but I lost him around that last bend."

"How do you know? Everything I saw went by in a blur."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Trust me. But I still don't feel comfortable leaving Emily and Nancy at the ice cream shop by themselves for too long. Let's head back, okay?"

"I thought you'd never say it." Frank placed his hands against the dashboard again as Joe accelerated.

OOOoooOOO

"Let's wait for the guys in your car," Nancy said. "We'll be safer that way."

They both got inside, and Nancy turned to Emily. "Lock your door. Do you have the keys?"

Emily shook her head. "Joe does. I guess I should have made another set before we left."

"I think we'll be all right." Nancy looked around her. "This is a really busy place. If anyone approaches us and starts acting weird, I'll lay on the horn."

Emily nodded.

Nancy stared out the driver's side window. "I can't believe that guy tried to follow Joe and Frank. Not really the brightest decision he could have made."

"Joe lost him when he was driving my Honda," Emily said. "There's no way that guy can keep up with him in a Porsche."

"Apparently he's not a quick learner."

"Apparently not," Emily said with a smile.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about what I said in there," Nancy apologized. "You know I think you'd be the greatest mom ever, don't you?"

"It's okay." Emily smiled. "You're so good at this, I can't help reacting to what you say. And that's a good thing, because I'm not an actress by any means."

"So, what's your opinion of Mrs. Sanders?"

"She's evil," Emily said. "It's nothing she's said or done outwardly. It's only a feeling I have."

Nancy nodded. "Yeah, I feel the same way."

"The best way I can describe it, is that I feel like Red Riding Hood when I'm around her." Emily turned to Nancy. "You know what I mean? Like she's the big bad wolf. 'Gee, grandmother, what big teeth you have. All the better to eat you with my dear.'"

"Exactly," Nancy agreed. "Which is why you need to be extremely careful."

"Joe is very protective. I know I'm safe if he's with me."

Nancy nodded. "Now all we have to do is figure out where her little prison is. When we do, I'm sure we'll find Amy."

"She must be terrified," Emily said, sitting back in her seat. "I can't even imagine being fifteen and pregnant. It's a very vulnerable feeling. I didn't think wearing this would make me feel any different, but it does." She ran her hand over her abdomen. "It's weird."

"Joe looks at you differently."

Emily stared at her. "In a bad way? Does he look scared...or, or repulsed?"

Nancy began laughing. "Not even close."

"What do you mean, then?"

"He looks like he loves you more." Nancy paused. "His eyes were different today. He's more protective, more serious, more possessive."

Emily chuckled. "I was worried when I put this thing on that he was going to turn and run as far away from me as he could."

"That's not Joe," Nancy said. "We're pretty lucky you know. We both managed to get the two best guys on the planet."

"I know," Emily agreed. She turned as she heard squealing tires behind her. "Even if he does act like he's twelve occasionally."

Nancy laughed as they both unlocked their doors and stepped out of the Honda.

"I don't even have to ask if you had fun," Emily remarked to Joe as he exited the Porsche. "It's written all over your face."

"Man, baby, that was like driving a dream," Joe said, pulling her into him for a hug.

"Uh, huh. And what does Mr. Callister think?" Emily turned to Frank.

"That I'm happy I have such a large auto policy," Frank replied dryly.

Nancy stepped over to Frank and linked her arm through his. "Well, darling, we really should get going now." She looked to Joe and Emily. "Thank you for your time. We hope you'll reconsider placing your baby with us."

"Our minds are pretty much made up," Joe said. "We'll be keeping her." He instinctively rested his hand on Emily's abdomen. Nancy caught her eye and gave her a slight smile. Emily dropped her head and hid her own

Frank shook Joe's hand. "We'll leave our information with Mrs. Sanders, in case your plans change."

Joe nodded and led Emily back to the Honda.

"Nice meeting you," Emily called out before she climbed in.

Joe sat behind the wheel, then turned to her. "Baby, I think that Porsche ruined me for any other vehicle."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Thanks for the much appreciated reviews, Lilith, Caranath, zenfrodo, unobtrusive, Jackie, Vinsmouse and bhar! Some fluff and fun mixed in with the detective work in this chapter. Before things go bad in the next. Thanks so much to those reading!

Chapter 9

Nancy stretched out on the sofa in her hotel room later that evening, making notes on a legal pad. "So, what do you think, honey?"

"What do I think about what?" Frank called from the bedroom.

"What do you think about going to see Mrs. Sanders tomorrow and asking to meet the other girls?"

Frank stepped into the living room, wearing his swim trunks and holding a towel. "I think it's a great idea."

Nancy set her legal pad down and stood. Frank's eyes widened as he took in her sapphire blue bikini. "Very nice."

She posed seductively then strolled over to him. "Ready for the hot tub?"

"You know it." Frank opened the French doors to their balcony and gestured for Nancy to step through. She sank down into the warm, soothing water, while Frank started the jets.

"Oh, this is heaven," she said with a sigh, leaning her head back against the cushioned edge of the tub.

He climbed in and sat next to her. "You can say that again."

They each rested silently for a moment, then Nancy turned to Frank. "You don't suppose that guy doubled back and followed Joe and Emily again, do you?"

"Joe can lose him," Frank responded, his eyes closed. Then he grinned. "Even if he's not in a Porsche."

Nancy smiled. "He's going to whine about that for a long time, you know."

"Don't remind me." Frank opened his eyes and gave Nancy such a heated look that a shiver of arousal ran through her. "In fact, let's not mention my brother's name any more tonight."

Nancy's smile was sly. "Oh, did you have something else in mind?"

"Oh yeah, I definitely have something else in mind." Frank drew her onto his lap for a hungry kiss that left her wanting much more.

Nancy moaned as they broke apart and his hands roamed over her back, then circled her waist. He lifted her slightly out of the water, and the cold air that rushed over her was in such contrast to the warmth of his mouth moving over her throat, that she gasped. Goosebumps prickled her flesh as she tunneled her fingers through Frank's hair and tilted his face up to hers, covering his mouth in a desperate kiss.

"Mmmmm," Frank murmured against her lips as he hurriedly untied her bikini top, "I can't get enough of you, Drew."

"Frank." Nancy voice was a rush of breath. She arched backwards, the steam from the water misting over her, while Frank adjusted her body so she was now straddling him. The hot water bubbled and swirled around them, and Nancy bent down and nuzzled his now damp hair, then kissed his neck, while he undid the strings holding the bottom of her suit together. She adjusted her position so she was straddling his legs, then slid her hands under the foaming water and reached for his trunks.

Frank groaned, as his hands roamed over her wet body. "I love you, Nan."

She slid her hands up his chest, then cupped his face in her hands before kissing him. "I love you, Frank."

OOOoooOOO

Emily's eyes snapped open from a sound slumber. She'd heard something. Shaking her head slightly, she looked toward the door of her hotel room. No, she wasn't mistaken. The doorknob was moving. "Joe," she hissed, shaking him. "Somebody's trying to break in."

"Wh-what?" Joe mumbled, reaching for her. "Come to sleep, baby."

Emily shook him harder. "Joe, someone's trying to get in our room. Wake up!"

OOO

Joe opened his eyes, and Emily pointed at the door. He hurriedly stood up and pulled on his sweat pants. Moving quietly toward the door, he held one eye against the peep hole, but saw nothing. He quickly turned the dead bolt and flung it open.

No one was there.

Joe looked up and down the walkway outside. Everything was still. He stuck his head back into the room. "Bolt this door and don't open it for anyone but me."

He crept down the walkway in front of their motel room, past the darkened windows of the other rooms, and toward the stairwell at the end of the building. As he reached the top of the stairs, he noticed the figure of a man moving near the bottom.

Joe dashed down the stairs, but by the time he reached the pavement, whoever it was had disappeared.

He hurried down the walkway in front of the ground floor rooms, searching for anything suspicious. As he reached the staircase on the opposite side of the building, he heard a car speed by him. Turning quickly, he noticed it was very similar to the sedan the man from the adoption agency had been driving. How could he have found them? Joe knew he hadn't been followed when he and Emily returned to the motel this afternoon. He'd made sure of it.

He quickly dashed up the stairs, not wanting to leave his girlfriend alone for another second. When he reached his room, he glanced down at the lock, and noticed scratches around the keyhole. His lips were a thin, tight line. Someone had tried to break in on purpose. He rapped on the door lightly. "Baby, it's me."

Emily opened the door, her eyes wide with fright. "Did you find anyone?"

"No." Joe hugged her tightly. "It was probably just some drunk who had the wrong room." He turned and bolted the door securely, attaching the chain lock as well. "Why don't we go back to sleep?"

Emily nodded, climbing back into bed. Joe stripped off his sweat pants and got in next to her. "You okay?" he asked, drawing her into a close embrace.

"I'm a little scared," she replied softly, resting her hand on his chest.

"Don't be, honey. I'm here." Joe kissed her on the top of her head. "Nobody's going to hurt you if I'm around."

Emily snuggled into Joe. "I know," she said.

He reached his other arm around her and held her as tightly as he could. "Let's go back to sleep, okay?"

Emily nodded and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she relaxed in his arms, and Joe could tell by her breathing that she was fast asleep. He kissed her forehead, then leaned back into his pillows. He stayed wide awake, watching and listening, until the light slowly grew brighter between the two halves of the curtains covering the hotel room window.

OOOooOOO

Bright and early the next morning, Nancy followed Frank and Mrs. Sanders along the sidewalk to the front door of a one-story brick home in the working class section of town. She paused while Mrs. Sanders inserted her key into the lock. Nancy slipped her hand into Frank's, knowing she would gain reassurance from that simple gesture. She definitely did not want to appear as nervous as she felt.

Mrs. Sanders swung the front door open wide and ushered Nancy and Frank inside ahead of her.

"Girls!" Mrs. Sanders called out.

Presently, a young pregnant woman entered the living room. "I thought that was you, Mrs. Sanders. Are we having our weekly meeting a day early?" The girl was tall, dark-haired and approximately seventeen years old.

_Not Amy,_ Nancy thought.

"No, Sarah. Actually, I've brought some guests by. This is Mr. and Mrs. Callister."

Nancy noticed that Sarah seemed surprised to have visitors, but she greeted them in a friendly manner.

"They're here to meet all of you," Mrs. Sanders continued.

Sarah's eyes opened wider. "Oh, well, everybody's sort of doing their own thing. Do you want me to call them?"

"Oh,no," Nancy replied. "Don't bother anyone. Is it okay if we just wander around?"

Mrs. Sanders nodded grimly, and Frank squeezed Nancy's hand.

"Sarah, give the Callisters a tour, please," Mrs. Sanders directed.

"Um, yeah, sure." Sarah gestured around the living room. "This is where we hang out and watch TV."

Nancy scanned the room, looking for signs of anything amiss. To her it resembled a college dormitory lounge. The furniture was comfortable, although slightly worn. Three couches were arranged around a television set, with end tables flanking them. Magazines were scattered on the coffee table, with two soda cans and a bottle of nail polish mixed in among them.

Nancy smiled at Sarah. "How many girls live here with you?"

She watched as Sarah looked to Mrs. Sanders, who nodded slightly.

"It depends. Right now, there are six," Sarah said.

"And do you stay here all the time?" Frank asked.

"Well, there really isn't anywhere to go," Sarah replied. "We don't have a car. Mrs. Sanders comes to take us to town for doctor's appointments and things like that." She shrugged her shoulders. "Mostly we just hang here."

Frank nodded. "What kind of supervision do you have?"

"Well, Rose stays with us all the time. In case there's an emergency or something." Sarah gestured down the hall. "Her office is that way."

"She's a registered nurse," Mrs. Sanders added. "With teen pregnancies, you never know what might happen. They tend to have a high rate of premature labor."

Nancy nodded. "May we see the rest of the house?"

Sarah, followed by Mrs. Sanders, led them through the kitchen and dining area, then onto the bedrooms. Two girls, one a red-head and one a brunette, were seated on their twin beds. The way they pulled away from Nancy slightly as she approached them, reminded her of small, frightened children. These girls were definitely scared.

"This is Nicole and Jennifer," Mrs. Sanders said, by means of introduction. "Girls, please say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Callister."

The girls greeted them in soft voices with wide eyes.

_They're both too old to be Amy,_ Nancy thought. _And yet still too young to be mothers. _

They entered the other bedrooms, greeting three more girls, none of whom matched Amy's description. They paused in front of the house-mother's door.

"Are these the only girls you have at the moment?" Frank asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Sanders answered firmly, leading Frank and Nancy into another room.

Rose Whitman, a plain woman, around thirty-five years old, stood from behind her desk to greet them. "How do you do?"

Frank shook her hand. "We're well, thank you."

She gestured to a sofa against a far wall. "Please, sit down."

Mrs. Sanders cleared her throat and turned to Rose. "The Callisters are looking to adopt a baby girl. They'd prefer a due date in late autumn."

"Well, I'm not sure any of the girls we're housing at the moment will meet your requirements," Rose said, as she stepped over to a filing cabinet. "Four of our young ladies are expecting boys, and the other two will be delivering within the next few weeks."

Nancy sighed. "That won't do." She looked to Mrs. Sanders. "Is this your only facility? These are the only girls you have right now?"

Mrs. Sanders responded with a slight hesitation in her voice, which did not escape Nancy's notice. "Yes, these are the only girls we have at the present moment."

"I'm sorry, darling," Frank said to Nancy, touching her leg lightly. She watched him turn on the charm as he looked to Mrs. Sanders. "What are the chances that someone will come along in the next few months who _can_ meet our requirements?"

Nancy struggled to hide her disgust when she saw the gleam appear in Mrs. Sanders' eyes. "I'm quite sure the chances are excellent. We get inquiries from new mothers frequently."

Frank nodded. "Well, do you mind if we chat with some of your girls? We'll need a better feeling of what their lives are like here."

"Yes," Nancy said with a toss of her head. "I'm still not sure if this will be...adequate...for any birth mother I might be interested in."

Mrs. Sanders narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Nancy knew the woman didn't want to do this, but she figured Mrs. Sanders' greed could win the day.

Nancy nudged Frank, who reached into his wallet and handed the woman several large bills.

"We're so sorry for inconveniencing you," he said. "I know this probably isn't in accordance with your policy, but it's important to my wife."

Mrs. Sanders took the money. "I understand."

Nancy noted Rose's look of outright alarm as she and Frank were led out of the makeshift office. _She's afraid we might discover something. Like where the other girls are hidden. _Because she knew Mrs. Sanders was lying through her teeth about that.

OOOoooOOO

Joe stood behind Emily securing the Velcro straps of her pregnancy tummy. "Is that okay? Not too tight?"

"Nope." Emily smiled. "It has to be pretty snug. I don't want her sliding around."

Joe turned her around and took her in his arms. He traced the scalloped lacy edge of her bra with his finger and was overwhelmed by the longing he felt for her. "I wish we could stay here all day."

He smiled as Emily tilted her face up toward him, and happily answered her silent request for a kiss. When they parted, she sighed. "Me, too."

Joe ran his hands over her back, and down to the scrap of lace covering her bottom. He rested his hands there and moved his lips to her neck. Her skin was warm and tender and he loved kissing her there. He felt Emily shiver slightly as his mouth traveled to the spot behind her ear he knew would make her weak in the knees.

"Joe, you need to stop right now, or I won't want you to."

"That's my evil plan." He chuckled against her shoulder.

Emily giggled. "I'm all in favor of your evil plan, but first we have to thwart somebody else's."

Joe sighed deeply and patted her on the behind, reluctant to let go of her entirely. "I know. Let's take care of Mrs. Sanders so I can have you all to myself again."

"Deal." Emily stepped away from him and Joe took a seat by the desk, trying to refocus his mind on the case.

"I hope Frank and Nancy were able to get into that little prison dorm this morning," he remarked, as Emily reached into her suitcase for an outfit.

"When will we know?" Emily pulled on a peasant top and smoothed it over her bulging abdomen, then slid on a pair of capris.

"Soon, I hope." Joe stood. "Why don't we get some lunch, then I'll try and call them." He grabbed his car keys and his wallet. "What would you like to eat?"

Emily grinned. "How about some more of that ice cream?"

Joe turned to her, surprised. "For lunch? Are you sure you're not really pregnant, baby?"

She giggled and slid her arms around his waist. "I'm positive. I just love ice cream."

Joe kissed her on the tip of her nose. "More than me?"

"Hmm, that particular ice cream was really good," she teased. "Let me think about it."

He grinned at her, unable to resist teasing her back. "I'll give you something to think about." He picked her up and fell down with her on the bed, tickling her in the ribs.

Emily squealed. "I love you more! Much, much more!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Thanks so much for reviewing, Caranath, Lilith, unobtrusive, zenfrodo, Jackie, Vinsmouse, bhar and leya! Time for the not so fun part of the case to begin. LOL Thanks to those reading!

Chapter 10

Nancy smiled at the young ladies assembled on the couches around her. "So, how do you like living here?"

"It's good," the red-headed girl said. "My dad kicked me out of the house as soon as he found out I was knocked up, so I really didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Same here," a brunette replied. "This has been really cool."

Nancy nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your babies' fathers?"

Sarah snorted. "He took off. Pretty much right after I said the words, 'I'm pregnant.'"

The others girls murmured in agreement.

"If I ever see him again, it'll be too soon," the red-haired girl said.

"And you're all okay with giving your babies up for adoption?" Nancy was trying hard to maintain her professional façade. Her heart was breaking for these girls and she was finding this entire situation much more difficult to deal with than she had originally thought it would be.

Another brunette shrugged. "I don't know if I'm one hundred percent okay, but I can't take care of him. I'm a high school dropout. Right now, I don't have a job, a home, anything." She stared at Nancy and Frank. "I really want him to grow up in a good family. With parents like you who could raise him the right way."

Nancy found herself getting teary-eyed, and was grateful when Frank came up behind the sofa and rested his hands on her shoulders for support.

"I know your baby will get a good home," Frank said. "And you can go on and finish your education and have a pretty great life yourself."

The girl gave him a half smile. "I hope you're right."

Nancy took a deep breath. "So are there any other girls besides you six?"

She was met with silence, but noticed the girls darting looks at one another.

"Um, no, this is all of us," Sarah replied hastily.

Nancy felt Frank squeeze her shoulder.

Mrs. Sanders stepped in between the girls and Nancy. "I think that's enough questions for now. We don't want the girls getting too tired."

Nancy stood and moved next to Frank. "Of course. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Sanders."

Frank smiled as he shook the woman's hand. "I only wish you had someone who could fit our needs."

"Well, we won't give up, will we?" Mrs. Sanders asked, as she escorted them to the door. "I'm sure we can find a baby for you."

Nancy stepped outside, holding Frank's hand, and walked over to the Porsche with Mrs. Sanders following.

"I'll stay in touch and keep you updated." Mrs. Sanders waved as she walked back toward the house.

"Thank you." Nancy smiled as Frank held the door open for her, then waited patiently while he got in on the driver's side and started the engine.

Frank's face was grim as they pulled out into the street. "She's lying like a rug."

OOOoooOOO

Joe and Emily walked hand in hand up to the already crowded ice cream shop. He grinned at her. "Okay, baby, you got your wish. Ice cream for lunch." He put his arm over her shoulders and kissed the side of her head, thinking again how incredibly cute she looked pregnant. "But we're stopping at a drive-through on the way back to the hotel."

Emily giggled. "Oh, so you're eating dessert first?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Joe replied, the smile still on his face.

They stepped inside, and while Emily glanced at the menu board, Joe reached into the pocket of his jeans for his wallet. "Shoot, I left it in the car." He smiled at Em. "I'm going to go back out and grab my wallet. You wait here, okay, beautiful? Come up with a flavor combination that makes our baby happy."

Emily nodded and Joe stepped out to the parking lot. He walked around the side of the building to where he'd left the Honda. Unlocking the car door, he bent down to retrieve his wallet from the console between the front seats.

Suddenly, a hand covered his face, pulling his head back. Joe reached up with his hands, but before he could gain an advantage, he felt a searing pain on the back of his head, and everything went black.

OOOoooOOO

Emily had finally decided on a single scoop of butter pecan in a sugar cone, when she realized that Joe hadn't returned. She stepped away from the counter, and looked into the parking lot. Not seeing anything unusual, she gazed around the ice cream parlour, hoping to spot him. _He couldn't have come back in without me seeing him._

Concerned, she walked through the door of the shop and around the building where her car was parked. It was still there, but Joe was nowhere in sight.

Emily began to feel an overwhelming sense of dread rising within her as she moved closer to the car. Peering through the driver's window, she noticed that Joe's wallet was still sitting on the console where he'd left it.

She stepped back from the Honda, her breathing becoming more rapid when she noticed her car keys lying on the pavement. The keys Joe would have used to unlock the door. Tears sprang to Emily's eyes. "Oh, no," she whispered aloud.

She ran to the back of the building and searched all around, but Joe wasn't there. Willing herself to remain calm, she re-entered the shop, knowing all the while that Joe was not going to reappear. Emily fought the panic that threatened to overwhelm her, and walked quickly over to a payphone on the wall. Her hand shaking, she picked up the receiver, and dialed "O", placing a call to the one person she knew could tell her what to do.

OOOoooOOO

"Hello?" Fenton Hardy picked up the phone in his home office.

A tinny voice spoke to him. "I have a collect call to a Mr. Fenton Hardy from Emily Clark."

Fenton sat up straight in his desk chair. "This is Fenton Hardy."

"Will you accept the charges, sir?"

"Of course. Emily, is that you? What's wrong?"

"I-I can't find Joe. He's disappeared." Emily's voice sounded small and frightened.

Fenton let out a deep breath. "Honey, where are you?"

He listened while Emily explained what happened as best she could. He could tell from her wavering voice that tears were threatening to overtake her at any moment.

"Okay, Em. You stay at that ice cream shop, and you make sure you're around a lot of people, understand?" Fenton was furiously scribbling notes on a pad on his desk. "Stay near a family, if possible." He stood and continued talking, trying to reassure her with his voice. "I'm going to send someone over there to pick you up. You are not to leave on your own. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Emily said softly. "Fenton, please don't send someone I don't know. Please try to find Frank or Nancy."

"I will, honey," he said. "Em, don't you worry, okay? Joe can take care of himself. He'll be all right."

A sob escaped her. "I can't help it."

"I know, but I promise, everything's going to be fine." Fenton paced as far as the phone cord would allow. "Now, you just do what I say, and Frank or Nancy will be there shortly. I'm coming up there too, okay?"

"Okay."

OOO

Emily hung up the phone and looked around her. Everything seemed so normal. People were laughing, children were chattering happily, and families were enjoying the noontime sunshine.

She walked slowly outside the shop and sat on a bench right next to the door. She felt a kick from her pregnancy tummy and settled a hand on her abdomen.

"How far along are you?" a young woman holding a baby asked.

"I'm sorry?" Emily replied, confused.

"Your pregnancy." The woman gestured towards her mid-section.

"Oh." Emily swallowed hard. "Um, five months."

"That's wonderful. You and your husband must be very excited." She cooed at her own baby.

An image of Joe flashed into her mind, and Emily struggled to fight back the tears. "Yes, we couldn't be happier."

The woman smiled and walked away. Emily suddenly felt more alone than she ever had in her life.

_Oh, Joe, where are you?_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Thank you for taking time to review, Caranath, unobtrusive, zenfrodo, lilith, Jackie, Vinsmouse, bhar and Sprite! It's very much appreciated! Thanks also to those reading!

Chapter 11

Frank sent the Porsche flying down the road at a speed Joe would have been proud of. He shifted gears, not even noticing how fast he was traveling, his mind spinning over Joe's disappearance.

_Why didn't we see this coming? We were so worried about something happening to Emily._ He slowed down as he came to a stop sign. _They went for Joe instead. With him out of the way, Em's going to be an easy target_.

Frank shot through the intersection and into the parking lot of the ice cream shop. He exited the car and found Emily sitting on a bench near the entrance.

Exhaling with relief, he rapidly approached her_. _She looked terrified.

"Emily?"

As she turned to him, Frank noticed tears spring to her eyes.

He held up his hands slightly, as a warning to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, getting some ice cream," she answered in a shaky voice.

"Well, that's exactly why I'm here. Mrs. Callister thinks this is the best she's ever eaten." Frank approached her and stood casually in front of the bench where she was seated.

Emily bit her lip. "Mr. Callister, I think something's happened to Joe."

"Take me to the car," he said in a low voice, as he held out his arm to her.

She stood and gripped him tightly. Frank could feel her trembling and patted her hand reassuringly.

They walked over to the Honda, and Frank pulled a paper napkin out of his khakis. Keeping it in his hand, he opened the passenger side door. He checked the interior of the vehicle, and pocketed Joe's wallet, still resting in the console. His brother had obviously been grabbed from behind before he could reach it.

Frank carefully examined the driver's seat, and noticed a small red stain on the upholstery. Blood. Most likely Joe was hit from behind, probably in the head.

He locked the door and deliberately kept his walk around to the driver's side casual, in case the perpetrators were still watching. He gazed down at the gravel surrounding the car. It was stirred up and heavy indentations were visible. A struggle. Frank paused for a moment to get his anger under control. He wasn't going to upset Emily any more than she already had been.

He returned to Emily's side and put his arm around her shoulders. "Why don't you come with me? Mrs. Callister and I will look after you until we can find out where Joe is."

Emily nodded and Frank could see she was struggling to hold back the tears. He helped her into the Porsche and sighed deeply. Damn, this was serious. Mrs. Sanders obviously wanted Emily and Joe's baby, and she was not above using violence to accomplish her goal.

"Be calm," he said to Emily as he sat in the driver's seat and started the engine. "Someone may still be here watching us."

"Oh Frank, I'm so scared! Joe–" She burst into tears before she could say anymore.

"I know." He patted her leg comfortingly. "We'll find him. "It's going to be okay."

And that was a promise Frank was definitely going to keep.

OOOoooOOO

Joe's body felt heavy. He struggled to move, but nothing was happening.

_Ow, my head_. His hand moved, oh so slowly, to touch his blond hair. He winced at the pain. Blinking, he tried to focus his eyes. _Where the hell am I?_ Springs creaked underneath him_. A cot?_

He tried to shift his weight and rise up on his elbows to look around. The room was dark and cold. A tiny sliver of light came through a covered window high on a far wall_. A basement_. He tried to swing his legs off the cot, but they wouldn't move.

Joe fell back, the pain in his head too intense to remain sitting. He closed and opened his eyes again. _Emily. Where is Emily?_

Memories started creeping in around the edges of Joe's mind. _The ice cream shop._ He remembered going to the car to get his wallet. _And then what? Pain._

Fear suddenly gripped him. _They don't want me, they want Emily. They want the baby. I have to get out of here!_

He forced his sluggish legs to shift off the cot. They thudded heavily to the floor, and Joe's body toppled to the ground. He paused allowing the wave of nausea he felt to subside a bit. He pushed himself up to his hands and knees on the cold concrete.

"Oh, Mr. Fredericks, you really shouldn't be out of bed," an icy female voice said.

Joe turned his head and tried to focus on the face that was hovering near him, but he didn't recognize the woman. "Emily," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Oh, yes," the woman replied, tapping on the side of a hypodermic needle. "Don't you worry about her. She'll be in very good hands."

Joe felt a wave of panic come over him. "No," he managed to croak out. "The baby."

"Your baby will be just fine, Mr. Fredericks. It's time for you to rest now." She plunged the needle in Joe's arm.

Joe cried out, then felt the room spinning. His head hitting the cold concrete was his last conscious act.

OOOoooOOO

Frank escorted Emily into the suite he was sharing with Nancy. The federal agents who had been in the Hardy home only a week earlier, were there as well. Nancy rushed to the door as soon as Frank stepped inside.

"Emily, are you all right?" She put her arms around her.

"No," Emily sobbed. "They have Joe."

Frank caught Nancy's eye over Emily's head. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and shook his head.

"Come sit on the couch, Em," Nancy said soothingly. "It's going to be okay."

As Emily sat down, Frank noticed her looking back at him.

"Please find Joe," Emily whispered when she caught his eye.

"I'm going to sweetie, don't you worry." Frank sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

Agent Brown cleared his throat. "Miss Clark, we're going to need to ask you some questions about Joe's disappearance."

"I can't tell you very much. We were in the ice cream shop. He went out to get his wallet and never came back inside." Emily's voice caught in her throat. "When I went out to look for him, he was gone."

Agent Brown was furiously scribbling in his notebook. "Did anyone know you were going to the ice cream shop?"

She shook her head.

"What was your purpose in going there?"

"To eat ice cream."

"So early in the day?"

"It wasn't early...it was around noon. I wanted to go there for lunch."

"So, you were having ice cream for lunch?"

"Yes," Emily answered softly.

"Why?"

"I don't know." Emily turned to Frank. "It's my fault, Frank. I should have just told him to get a burger. That's what he really wanted."

"Don't be ridiculous." Frank patted her hand. "This would have happened no matter where you went. You were obviously being followed."

"Are you implying that Joe's abduction was in some way your fault, Miss Clark?" Agent Brown looked at her intently. "Did you notify someone and tell them you were going there?"

"What?" Emily asked. "No, of course not."

"But you did just say that Joe would have preferred to go somewhere else, and you forced him to take you there against his will, did you not?" Agent Brown pressed.

"Now hang on a minute," Frank spoke up, the anger rising in him. "Are you trying to implicate Emily in Joe's disappearance?"

"Things like this have happened before, Mr. Hardy," Agent Brown said, still scribbling. "I'm only covering my bases."

"Yeah, well you can stop wasting your time on that line of questioning right now," Frank said, his voice taking on a decided edge. "Nobody loves Joe more than Emily. And if you want some questions concerning responsibility, where the hell were the feds when this was going on?" He leaned forward. "My brother and his girlfriend were obviously being tailed. Why didn't you step in?"

Agent Brown shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Look Mr. Hardy, I'm just doing my job. These are questions I have to ask."

"Likewise," Frank shot back.

Nancy raised her hands in the air. "Okay, none of this is going to get Joe back."

Frank looked coldly at Agent Brown. "Emily is not on your suspect list, got that?"

The agent sighed and continued scribbling.

Agent McClafferty, who'd been silent all this time, came forward. "It seems to me, based on what you've told us, Joe isn't really who they want in all of this."

"No, they want Emily," Frank said dully.

Emily looked up at him, and Frank could tell she was puzzled. "Me? What are you talking about? They took Joe."

"To get him out of the way," Nancy explained. "They saw how protective Joe was of you."

"And no one was going to get your baby with him around," Frank said.

"Of course, they had no idea we'd be around." Nancy smiled at her.

They were interrupted by a ringing telephone. Agent Brown nodded at Frank, who picked up the receiver. "Frank Callister. Oh, yes, Mrs. Sanders. Uh huh. Really? You think you'll be able to get us a girl baby? Due in October, huh? Well, yes, we're most definitely interested. Is the mother available to interview? Not yet? Okay, well, yes, I'll speak with Mrs. Callister and we'll let you know. Thank you." Frank hung up the phone and looked directly at Emily.

"She's trying to sell me your baby."

OOOoooOOO

Mrs. Sanders hung up the phone and turned to her husband. "I think we've got them."

Harold Sanders lounged in the chair in front of her desk and inspected his fingernails. "Well that's lovely dear, but you see, you have one slight problem. You don't have the baby."

"We'll get her," she replied confidently.

"Hmm, and just how do you propose to do that?"

"Roger is waiting at her hotel. As soon as she returns there, she's ours." She stood, picked up a file from her desk and placed it in a filing cabinet.

"And suppose she doesn't return there?"

Mrs. Sanders sighed and slammed the filing cabinet drawer shut. "Of course she will, Harold. All of her things are there. She's also hoping Joe will show up."

"I don't know, Eugenia." Harold leaned forward. "I think you're assuming a lot."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I've done this before, dear. These girls are all the same. Insecure, lost, looking for an anchor in their lives."

"I believe this one has an anchor," Harold reminded her.

"Yes, and he's rotting away in a basement across town, drugged out of his mind."

Harold leaned back in his chair again, tapping his fingertips together. "I don't know, Eugenia. I don't have a good feeling about this."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review, unobtrusive, lilith, Maddi, zenfrodo, Jackie, Vinsmouse, leya, Caranath and bhar! Much appreciated! Thanks to those reading, as well!

Chapter 12

Frank paced back and forth in the hotel suite, thinking out loud with Nancy.

"We know Mrs. Sanders didn't have Amy in the house we went to today," he began. "So there must be another place she's keeping these girls."

Nancy nodded. "And the girls she did have in the house all seemed perfectly willing to be there."

"But for the girls that aren't perfectly willing..."

His head snapped up as the entire adoption scheme crystallized in his mind, and he turned to Nancy. "That's where she has Joe."

"It makes sense," Nancy responded. "Now all we have to do is find out where this place is. The place for girls who _don't_ want to give up their babies."

Frank sat on the edge of the sofa, a plan formulating in his mind. "We need to make another appointment with Mrs. Sanders."

"And do what?"

"Get into the filing cabinet in her office."

Frank turned as the door to the suite opened and Agent Brown walked in with Fenton Hardy.

"Any news?" Fenton asked his son immediately.

Frank shook his head. "No, but Nancy and I have a theory." He explained what they'd been thinking and Agent Brown nodded.

"I'm sure you're right, Frank, but getting into those files is going to be tough without someone on the inside helping you," Agent Brown said.

"I know who might help." Emily stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Emily, I thought you were resting," Nancy said.

"I can't rest. Not with Joe..." She hung her head and Fenton walked over to her and hugged her tightly.

"Don't you worry, honey, we're going to find him."

Emily sniffled. "I know, and I'm going to help."

"What were you going to say, Emily? Who do you think might help?" Frank prompted.

"Jodie. She's Mrs. Sanders's secretary. When Joe and I went to the agency yesterday, she told us to leave. She said that we shouldn't give our baby away, and that Joe should never let me out of his sight while I'm there. We wanted to ask her more, but Mrs. Sanders walked into the waiting room."

"Did Jodie say why she wanted you to leave?" Frank asked.

"She said she was afraid that Mrs. Sanders would somehow persuade us to give her the baby and that we should just run."

"We put a tail on Jodie yesterday evening at Joe's request," Agent Brown spoke up. He looked at Agent McClafferty. "Would you see if a report has been filed by the agent who was following her yet?"

Agent McClafferty nodded and picked up the telephone.

"Maybe Jodie would tell Emily what's really going on with Mrs. Sanders, if she was so willing to warn her and Joe yesterday," Nancy suggested.

"Yes, but we need to be careful about using Emily," Agent Brown said. "They obviously want her baby."

"And if they find out she's not really pregnant..." Frank didn't finish his sentence, but the implication was understood. Joe would be in grave danger.

Agent McClafferty hung up the phone. "Jodie McMillan went home with Mrs. Sanders last night. The agent who followed her did some checking, and apparently Jodie is Mrs. Sanders' niece."

"Her niece?" Frank thought for a moment. It actually made sense. If Jodie was nervous about what her aunt was doing she would be reluctant to speak up about it if she actually lived with the woman. But why was she living with her? "What does Mrs. Sanders have on her?"

"It's not like that," Agent McClafferty explained, looking down at her notes. "Mrs. Sanders' sister...Jodie's mother...was in a serious car accident some years ago. She's paralyzed from the chest down and lives in a special facility with a twenty-four hour a day private nurse. Evidently Mrs. Sanders pays the bills for her care."

"Well, that certainly explains Jodie's reluctance to tell Joe and Em what was going on, doesn't it?" Nancy said.

"But she _did_ want to tell us," Emily insisted. "And I think she would have if her aunt hadn't come into the room."

Frank nodded. "We'll just have to approach Jodie away from the agency somehow. Then maybe she'll talk."

"Only if you use the right person," Fenton said.

"And that would be?" Nancy asked.

"Emily." Fenton's voice was grim and Frank caught his father's eye from across the room. Joe would kill them both if he knew.

OOOoooOOO

Joe groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. _How long have I been here?_ His body felt heavy as he raised himself to a sitting position.

A wave of nausea washed over him. Clutching his stomach, he forced his legs off the bed. He sat and took several deep breaths before he tried to stand up. He managed to get to his feet, then leaned heavily against the concrete wall behind his cot. _Man, I feel so sick_.

His footsteps were leaden as he forced himself to move forward. Hearing voices, he stopped_. Not again, please._

The voices weren't coming toward him. _Where were they?_

Joe crept along the wall until he stood directly under a vent. Pausing, he listened as the voice of a young girl cried out distinctly, "Stop it! No!"

_I'll bet that's Amy._ Joe blinked his eyes trying to eliminate his blurred vision as he took in his surroundings. He headed toward the only source of light in the room. A boarded up window set high in the cement wall. He glanced around the basement and dragged some boxes toward it.

Struggling against dizziness and his roiling stomach, he managed to climb on them high enough to reach the window. He didn't have the strength to pry off the boards, but he managed to peer through the crack.

_I'm in a neighborhood_. _This must be Mrs. Sanders little dormitory of hell._ He climbed down from the boxes and pushed them away from the window_. Time for you to come up with a plan, Hardy._

OOOoooOOO

Emily twisted her hands together as she waited with Fenton in the parking lot of a gas station, across the street from the adoption agency.

"Are you sure you want to do this, honey?" Fenton asked.

Emily nodded vigorously. "I'll do anything to get Joe back."

Fenton smiled at her. "I know you will." He looked over at the entrance to the convenience store. "Is that Jodie?"

Emily nodded as a young girl exited the doorway, carrying a tray of Styrofoam cups. "Wish me luck."

"You'll do fine," Fenton said. "And I'll be right here. Nothing will happen to you."

She took a deep breath and hurried over to the secretary. "Jodie?"

Jodie startled, and coffee sloshed through the top of the flimsy lids of two of the cups in the cardboard tray.

"What are you doing here?," the receptionist demanded. "You need to leave. It's not safe."

"Jodie, Joe is missing."

"What?" Jodie stopped, a terrified look coming over her. "Oh, no."

"You've got to help me." Tears began falling down Emily's cheeks. "I have to find him. Please."

The receptionist shook her head as she snuck furtive glances toward the adoption agency.

"Jodie, I know you know something," Emily pleaded. "In the office the other day, you started to tell us. What was it?"

Jodie bit her lip, then grabbed Emily by the arm and took her behind her car. "Listen, this is very dangerous. Mrs. Sanders and her husband, they're awful people." She cast a nervous glance around the parking lot. "There are girls who come to us...she takes them, hides them until their babies are born. Then she sells their babies."

"But why don't these girls say anything?" Emily asked. "How does she get away with this?"

"She makes them addicts. All of their babies are born by C-section, and then she gets them hooked on drugs while they're recovering. By the time she turns them loose, they don't remember what happened and they don't care." Jodie started to back away. "I've told you too much."

"Wait, I need to know where Joe is."

"She must have him where she keeps the girls. The ones who don't want to give up their babies." Jodie started moving backwards, coffee now spilling down the sides of the cups. "I don't know where the house is...they don't even think I know about all of this."

"But, Jodie-"

"Listen, I hope you find Joe. You guys are so great together. Please, be careful." She hurried to the edge of the convenience store parking lot and dashed across the street.

OOOoooOOO

From inside the building, Eugenia Sanders watched her niece talking with Emily. Her eyes narrowed and she pushed a button on her phone. A burly man entered the office.

"Yeah, Mrs. Sanders?"

"I need you to take care of something, Roger," she said with a smile. "Jodie McMillan needs to have a bit of an accident."

Roger smiled a near toothless grin at her. "Gotcha, Mrs. S." He shook her well-manicured hand with his thick and calloused one. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you," she replied as he left the office.

She watched through the window as Emily got back into her Honda. "You're next, sweetie," she said through gritted teeth.

OOOoooOOO

Joe heard footsteps overhead and dragged himself as quickly as he could back to his cot. He lay down, pretending to be unconscious, as he heard two sets of footsteps descending into the basement. He cracked one eye open only enough to see who was there.

"He's still out like a light," Mr. Sanders said. "Damn it, Rose, how much of that stuff did you give him?"

"Just the usual." She frowned. "Maybe it was a little too soon after the first dose."

Harold Sanders sighed. "Well, I don't suppose it matters. It'll be easier to have him unconscious."

"Mrs. S. sure seems eager to get his girlfriend."

"Yes, Emily is quite beautiful. She's certain her baby will command a high price." Harold paused. "In fact, she's toying with something entirely new for Emily."

"What do you mean?"

"Keeping her." Harold smiled. "Eugenia seems to think she can use her to breed designer babies."

"Not following you," Rose said.

"Get her pregnant again by some other young stud after she delivers this baby."

"I think she's losing it, Harold," Rose said, as she began walking back up the stairs.

"You want to tell her that?" Harold closed the door to the basement and bolted it shut.

Joe sat up in bed, anger coursing through him. _Breed her? Force her to have sex with other men and get her pregnant? Over my dead body!_

He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts. _I've got to get out of here. They can't get anywhere near Emily._ His girlfriend's face flashed into his mind_. Stay safe, baby. Please_.

OOOoooOOO

"Nothing?" Frank asked Agent McClafferty. "No property listed under her name?"

Agent McClafferty shuffled through her files on the coffee table in Frank and Nancy's hotel room. "Except for the adoption agency itself, no other property lists the Sanders as owners or tenants."

Frank sat back in his chair and sighed. "No, I guess that would make things too easy."

"We're going to have to follow them," Nancy said.

"Yeah." Frank looked up at his girlfriend. "Not Mrs. Sanders though. The nurse at the house we went to today. What was her name?"

"Um, Rose, I think."

"Her," Frank stated. "She's the one. If she takes care of the girls in the first house, it stands to reason that she would also take care of any other girls, right?"

"Yes," Nancy agreed excitedly. "And don't you remember how nervous she looked when we kept asking questions? She definitely knows what's going on."

"Yeah, and she was having a hard time hiding it," Frank said, turning his head toward the door of the suite as a key was inserted in the lock. Fenton and Emily entered.

Nancy jumped up from the sofa. "What did you find out? Did you see Jodie? Did she tell you anything?"

"She was really scared," Emily said quietly.

"Yes, but did you learn anything?" Nancy persisted.

Emily stared at her, a troubled look in her eyes. "Mrs. Sanders steals the girls' babies, then she turns them into addicts so they can't remember anything…and even if they do, they don't care anymore."

OOOoooOOO

Joe dragged himself from the cot again and began searching the room for any possible means of escape. The basement was almost completely empty except for the boxes he'd used to get close to the window. _That may be my only way out_. He heard the female voices talking from upstairs again. Standing under the vent, he struggled to listen to the conversation.

"I want to go home. I want to see my parents," a young girl's voice sobbed.

"Why? They're only going to throw you out on the street," Rose replied. "Isn't that why you didn't tell them you were pregnant in the first place?"

"Yes, but whatever they do to me can't be worse than here."

"Now honey, listen to reason. In a few months, this will be all over with, and you can go back home," Rose continued in what Joe thought was meant to be a soothing tone. "Then your parents will never have to know that you were pregnant."

"But you're going to take my baby!"

"We are going to place your baby in a home with loving parents who can take care of her. You can't do that, Amy. You're fifteen years old, for crying out loud. You're still a baby yourself!"

Joe backed away from the vent and sat down on the cot.

It was Amy. He couldn't just break the window and run for it now. He had to get her out, too.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the feedback, Caranath, unobtrusive, Jackie, Lilith, Leya, zenfrodo, Vinsmouse and bhar! I'm very grateful for it. Thanks also to those who are reading!

Chapter 13

"All right, I think we're going to split up on this one," Agent Brown announced. "Fenton, you and I can stake out the adoption agency, and try to follow whoever leaves from there. Frank and Nancy, you two go back to the first unwed mothers' house and try to tail Rose." He looked up. "Agent McClafferty will stay here with Emily."

"I want to help find Joe," Emily insisted.

"I know, sweetheart." Fenton put his arm around her. "But it's much too dangerous for you. And Joe would kill me if he knew I brought you along."

"He'd kill all of us," Frank chimed in.

Emily sighed. "I just want him back." A tear trickled down her cheek.

Nancy sat down on the other side of Emily and hugged her. "You'll have him back. I promise."

OOOoooOOO

Joe retreated to his position on the cot when he heard the basement door open again. Rose, along with Harold Sanders, came down the steps. Rose was carrying a tray with what looked to Joe like a sandwich and a drink on it. He stared at them coldly as they approached.

"Well, it's about time you woke up," Rose said. "Did you sleep well?"

Joe didn't reply.

As she moved close to the bed and began to lower the tray, Joe struck it with a quick upward motion, sending it flying back in her face and scattering its contents. He then lunged forward off the bed and began to head toward the stairs, when Harold reached out and grabbed Joe's arm, pulling him backwards.

_Damn it,_ thought Joe. _Whatever drug they gave me is slowing me down_.

He struck back at Harold, clipping him neatly in the jaw, but in Joe's weakened state, Harold easily overpowered him with a swift blow to the stomach. Joe doubled over in pain, and Harold hauled him back to the cot.

Breathing heavily, Harold threw him down, then reached into the pocket of his pants and yanked out a pair of handcuffs. He slapped them around Joe's wrist and the iron headboard of the cot. He leaned over Joe. "You want to play dirty, we'll play dirty."

"Where is Emily?" Joe shouted .

"Don't you worry about your pretty little girlfriend," Harold seethed at him. "I promise I'll take good care of her." He stepped backwards as Joe flailed at him with his free hand. "I watched you two at the office when you spoke with my wife. Don't think I haven't noticed what a hot little body Emily has."

"You son of a bitch," Joe hissed out through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, she's a looker," Harold stepped back a little further and motioned to Rose, who got out a hypodermic needle. "Even pregnant, she can still turn heads. Still inspire lust in men." He looked straight into Joe's eyes. "In fact, I can't wait to get my hands on her. All over her."

Joe pulled against the handcuffs holding him to the bed, wanting nothing more than to bash Harold Sanders' head against the concrete floor.

Harold snorted at him. "You're not going anywhere, Joe. You can just lie back on that cot, relax and imagine. Imagine me with Emily. Because that's what's going to happen. And I'm going to bring her right here. So you don't miss a thing."

He grinned at Joe, then leaned over and held his legs firmly, wrapping a second set of cuffs around Joe's ankle and the footboard of the bed, while Rose stabbed him right through his jeans with the hypodermic needle.

Joe cried out in pain, and the room began spinning around him.

"Emily," he gasped, as everything around him faded to black.

OOOoooOOO

Emily sat silently as everyone except Agent McClafferty filed out of the hotel suite. She brushed a few tears from her cheeks and said a silent prayer for everyone's safe return. She didn't notice Agent McClafferty standing in front of her.

"Are you hungry? Would you like some dinner?"

Emily shook her head.

"You need to eat something." She sat on the sofa across from Emily. "It's already past dinnertime," she said, glancing at the wooden clock on the mantel, which read seven-twenty.

"I'm not hungry," Emily said softly.

"Joe would want you to eat."

Emily looked over at the FBI agent. Her blonde hair was cut into an efficient bob and her make-up was minimal but effective. She was smiling encouragingly. Emily gave her a half smile back. "What's your name? I mean, besides 'Agent?'"

Agent McClafferty laughed. "Annie."

"Well, thank you, Annie, but I don't think I could even force food down," Emily said. "I'm too worried about Joe."

"Then at least drink some juice," Annie insisted. She stepped over to the bar area and opened the mini-fridge. "Is orange okay?"

Emily nodded as Annie handed her the can. She sipped it obediently.

Annie sat opposite her. "You and Joe are really special together, you know that?"

Emily nodded. "I'm so lucky. He means everything to me."

Annie smiled. "That's nice. I hope someday I can find someone like that."

"I'm sure you will," Emily told her softly. "And when you do, hang onto him." She bit her lip as the tears flowed steadily down her cheeks.

OOOoooOOO

"See anything?" Frank asked Nancy as he parked the blue sedan Agent Brown had loaned them, about a block away from the unwed mothers' house they had visited earlier that day.

Nancy peered through the binoculars. "Nothing. There aren't even any cars in the driveway." She paused. "Wait a minute. Who's this?"

She stared intently as a silver Volkswagen pulled to a stop in front of the home. Rose stepped out and headed for the front door, quickly entering and closing it behind her.

"That was Rose. " Nancy lowered the binoculars. "So, she's not here every second of the day."

Frank shrugged. "Well, it probably doesn't matter too much, since these girls seem to want to be here."

"I guess," she said slowly. "Are you ready for the license plate number?"

"Shoot," Frank instructed.

"GHZ-754," Nancy read from the rear plate.

"Got it." Frank scribbled it down in his small notebook. "Do you think it would do any good to question the girls in this house? They seemed to know more than they were willing to admit this afternoon."

She paused. "I'd like to, but I don't think we should endanger them unless we have to. Did you notice how closely Mrs. Sanders was monitoring them?"

"Yeah. The threat was palpable. Say the wrong thing and you'll pay."

"I don't think they're keeping Joe here. It would be too obvious."

"No, they're not," Frank agreed. "This is her public housing. Joe is in the private housing. And I'm guessing so is Amy and any other girls who are part of her little baby-selling ring."

"So, do you think that all of the girls staying here are going through the adoption process with their babies legitimately?"

"Yeah, it's her cover," Frank said. "Have a certain number of legal, by the book, adoptions each year to keep a clean record, then find people who are willing to pay–"

"Like the Callisters," Nancy interrupted.

"Like the Callisters," Frank repeated. "For those people, give them their very expensive, made to order, designer babies."

Nancy shuddered. "This whole thing makes me sick."

"Me too. Especially if what Jodie said is true and she's turning them into addicts after their babies are born."

"There has to be a special place in hell for someone like that," Nancy said, raising the binoculars to her eyes once more. And she was determined to help Mrs. Sanders get there.

OOOoooOOO

"This building looks deserted," Fenton commented from the front seat of the government van he was riding in. They were positioned across the street from the adoption agency in the gas station parking lot.

"I agree." Agent Brown was in the back of the van with headphones on, adjusting some dials on a machine. "I'm picking up electronic impulses. That place is wired with cameras, audio bugs, motion sensors, you name it."

Fenton took a sip from his Styrofoam coffee cup. "I didn't think these people were that sophisticated."

Agent Brown sighed. "We thought wrong. There's something in there they are going to great lengths to protect."

Fenton snorted. "You mean besides their asses?"

"Besides those." Agent Brown removed his headphones. "Fenton, we need to move fast on this. We need to find your son. As soon as possible."

"You're not telling me anything I don't already know Lou," he said, his mind clouded with worry for Joe.

OOOoooOOO

Amy Baxter crept quietly from the cot in her bedroom. Slowly she inched her way past the room where Harold Sanders was snoring loudly.

Carefully avoiding the motion sensor she knew was placed by the front door, she snuck through the kitchen and over to the basement.

_Oh please don't let this door be rigged. _

She gingerly touched the deadbolt and braced herself. When nothing happened, she sighed with relief and quickly turned it.

Opening the door, she slipped down the stairs and over to the cot in the corner. She grabbed the flashlight from the pocket of her sweatpants and turned it on.

Amy stared at the young man lying there. Who was he and why was he handcuffed? She shook him gently. "Wake up," she urged. "Please, wake up."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, bhar, Caranath, unobtrusive, Sprite, lilith, leya, zenfrodo, Jackie, Vinsmouse and NenaSue! Very much appreciated! Have a great holiday weekend for those in the States and thanks very much to those reading!

Chapter 14

Nancy stirred in the passenger seat of the sedan, then jerked herself awake. She shook her head and turned to see a smiling Frank.

"Oh, no, did I fall asleep?" She pulled herself to a sitting position. "Frank, why did you let me do that?"

"You were tired."

"I know, but you're not supposed to sleep on a stake-out."

"Nothing's happening."

Nancy yawned. "Nothing?"

"Nope, I think they're all asleep, too."

"What time is it?"

"Almost four." Frank leaned back in his seat. "Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes while you take over."

"Good idea." Nancy leaned over and kissed him. "Nighty-night."

OOOoooOOO

Joe felt like he was floating outside of his body, but something was pulling him back.

What was it?

Someone was shaking him. Geez, it hurt. Stop it.

He struggled to force his eyes open. Struggled to make his limbs move. There was a voice. A female voice_. _

Emily? Baby, is that you? No, not Emily. Someone else. Who?

"Wake up. Please wake up." The voice sounded desperate.

Joe's eyes slowly parted, then closed as the beam of a flashlight shone over his face.

"At last." Amy smiled.

"W-who?" Joe gasped out. "Who are you?"

"I'm Amy. Who are you and why are you down here?"

Joe paused, trying to remember where he was. "I'm Joe."

"What did you do to the Sanders? Why did they bring you here?"

The Sanders. Joe remembered now. And Amy. This was Amy Baxter, the girl they'd been trying so hard to find.

Joe opened his eyes again. "Um, the Sanders want my girlfriend, Emily, and I guess they thought I was in the way." Joe didn't want to startle the girl or tell her that he was there to rescue her until he could come up with some sort of workable plan. Which had better be soon.

"Is she pregnant?"

"Who?"

"Your girlfriend."

"Um, yeah, yeah. She's pregnant." Joe tried to raise himself to a sitting position.

"Wow, and you didn't leave her?"

"Of course not." Joe clutched his stomach, still sore from Harold's sucker punch. "I love her."

"Well, I hope they don't get her then," Amy said. "They're horrible people. They're going to take my baby from me."

She ran her hand across her swollen abdomen, and Joe noticed for the first time how pregnant she was. Oh, crap. She was way bigger than Emily.

"Listen Amy, how did you get down here?"

"Harold is sleeping right now, and I had to take the chance. I didn't know what was going on. I was afraid he'd kidnapped another girl."

"How many girls are here right now?" Joe asked.

"Three."

"And are they all as far along as you are?"

"Pretty much." Amy shrugged. "We're all just a few weeks apart. Kimberley is due any day now."

Joe briefly closed his eyes. How was he going to do this? Three very pregnant girls. Frank, where the hell are you?

OOOoooOOO

Nancy shook Frank. "Wake up, honey. Rose is going to her car."

Frank sat up quickly, rubbed his eyes and started the engine. "Let's hope she leads us right to Joe."

"Yeah." Nancy watched as the nurse, who seemed completely oblivious to her surroundings, drove past them. Frank waited for a moment, then pulled out and followed her. She turned onto a main road and Frank stayed two cars behind her.

"It looks like she's stopping at this pharmacy," Nancy said, as Rose entered a parking lot.

"Damn," Frank commented. "I wish we hadn't met her the other day. I'd love to go in there and find out what she's buying."

Nancy glanced around her. "Frank, this place isn't even open."

They watched as Rose knocked on the front door. In a moment, it opened and she stepped inside.

"She must be getting stuff under the table," Frank said. "That could be anything."

"And not anything good." Nancy sighed, filled with worry for the girls and Joe.

OOOoooOOO

"Listen, Amy," Joe told the young girl. "I'm going to try to find a way to get us out of here."

Amy shook her head. "There isn't a way. The doors and windows are all booby-trapped. We're never alone."

"You came down here," Joe pointed out.

"Yeah," she said softly. "That's true."

"I'm going to need your help, though. I can't come up with a plan if they keep drugging me."

"That's Nurse Rose. She's always threatening us with her needles if we act up."

"Yeah, well she's doing more than just threatening me." Joe thought for a moment. "No doubt Rose and Mrs. Sanders' husband are going to come down here this morning. I'm going to pretend to be out of it, but I'm going to need your help so that they don't shoot me up again."

"What can I do?"

"Can you fake some labor pains or something like that?"

Amy smiled. "You bet I can."

Joe grinned back. "Then that's what I need you to do. You have to distract them enough so that they leave me alone."

"Okay, but what about the handcuffs?"

"I can get out of these if I have something to work the lock with," Joe said. "They're not very strong."

Amy pulled a clip out of her hair. "Would this work?"

He took it and looked at the metal fastener. "Yeah, I think it will."

Amy smiled at him. "Thank you for wanting to help us."

He patted her arm. "Don't worry. We're going to get out of here. I promise."

She nodded. "Here, why don't you keep the flashlight? You'll need it to see your handcuffs." She turned and slipped back up the staircase.

Joe sighed and went to work on the lock. _Time to come up with something brilliant, Hardy._

OOOoooOOO

Agent McClafferty looked up briefly from her phone conversation as Emily entered the living room of the hotel suite.

"That's awful," she said into the receiver. "When did this happen?" She sighed. "These people are monsters if they can do that to someone in cold blood. Yeah, call me when you know more."

She hung up the phone and turned to find Emily gripping the back of an arm chair, her face ashen and her body shaking.

"Is it Joe?" she whispered.

"No, honey," Agent McClafferty said, putting her arm around Emily's shoulders and leading her over to the couch. "That had nothing to do with Joe." She sat down with Emily. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Emily exhaled an unsteady breath. "Who was it then? Someone's hurt."

Agent McClafferty nodded. "I'm afraid so. It's Jodie, the Sanders' secretary. Her car was hit and slid down a ravine."

Emily's mouth opened in disbelief but she couldn't say anything.

"She's in the hospital right now in critical condition."

OOOoooOOO

Frank stayed far behind Rose's sedan as it turned into another neighborhood.

"That wasn't a very large bag she got at the pharmacy," Nancy commented.

"No, just big enough for pills," Frank said grimly.

"She's stopping."

Frank slowed his car as Rose pulled her Volkswagen into the driveway of a one-story brick home. "That's got to be it. This has to be where she has Joe."

OOOoooOOO

Joe heard the front door to the house open and voices talking above him.

_Here goes nothing,_ he thought as he heard footsteps approaching.

The basement door opened and Harold and Rose descended the steps.

"He's still out," Harold said.

Rose shrugged. "He must be really sensitive to the sedative. It happens."

"Maybe you should give him another dose," Harold suggested. "Then he'll be out for the rest of the day."

Before Rose could reply, a cry was heard from upstairs. "Help, I think my water broke!"

"Oh, damn it," Harold said. "Not today."

"You'd better go alert Doc Porter." Rose said as they both turned and ran back up the stairs.

Joe sat up and removed the handcuffs he had unlocked earlier. "Good girl, Amy," he whispered aloud. "Now, let's get everyone out of here."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy and Frank were just about to exit their car and try to figure out how to get into the brick house, when Harold Sanders dashed out the front door.

"Frank," Nancy said. "That's the guy who followed us to the ice cream place."

Frank nodded. "Yeah, and he seems to be in a big hurry."

Harold jumped into the VW and flew out of the driveway and down the street.

Nancy looked at him. "Do you think that means Rose is alone in the house?"

Frank grinned. "One way to find out."

OOOoooOOO

Joe looked around the basement for something he could use as a weapon.

Finally, he pulled a piece of wood off one of the orange crates. If he swung it hard enough, it would do some damage.

He snuck up the stairs and paused at the top while he tried the door handle. It had been left unlocked, just as he'd hoped. He stepped through and closed it quietly behind him.

Leaning against the wall, he listened. There seemed to be commotion coming from the back of the house. He heard Amy crying out in mock pain, and Rose's voice trying to calm her down.

Joe crept along the hallway, and replaced the board from the orange crate with a candlestick from a hall table.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the feedback, Lilith, unobtrusive, Jackie, zenfrodo, Vinsmouse and Maddi! I very much appreciate your comments! Thanks to everyone reading, as well.

Chapter 15

Frank snuck up to the side of the house with Nancy right behind him, and peered through a window.

"What do you see?" Nancy asked.

"Not much. It's the kitchen, but nobody's in there. I hear noise, though," Frank said. "Listen, it sounds like someone's crying."

"It's coming from the other side of the house."

"Well, this may be our chance to get in unnoticed."

Frank kept walking until he got to the rear of the home. He tried the door that lead from the backyard into the garage. It opened easily. He ushered Nancy inside.

"I'm going to break that down," he whispered, pointing to the door leading into the house. "They're never very strong. You stay behind me, do you understand?"

"Frank," she protested.

"I don't have time for this, Nan. We'll fight about it later. For now, you stay behind me. Got it?"

He kept his voice firm. Nancy didn't like being given orders on a case, but he wasn't budging. Joe's life was at stake, and hers could be, too, if there was someone else in the house they weren't aware of. She was staying behind him, whether she liked it or not.

She nodded resignedly and Frank kissed her forehead. "Thank you for being reasonable."

He ignored her frosty look as he approached the door, and in one swift movement, kicked it in. Alarm sensors began buzzing.

OOOoooOOO

Joe jumped as he heard the alarm by the garage, and he braced himself behind the living room wall.

"Oh, damn that Harold!" Rose yelled from the bedroom. "Why can't he ever learn to turn that thing off before he comes inside?"

Joe readied himself for Harold Sanders to come around the corner, but when he jumped out, he found himself face to face with Frank instead.

Joe grinned at his brother. "Well it's about damn time you got here." He pointed down the hall toward the bedroom.

"How many?" Frank whispered.

"Just Rose and the girls," Joe said.

"Good." Frank motioned for Nancy. "You help get the girls out of here and into the car. Joe and I will take care of Rose."

The three of them started down the hallway toward the bedroom. Joe positioned himself on the opposite side of the door from Frank, then held up his hand and silently counted down 3-2-1 with his fingers.

Joe burst through the door with Frank and spotted Rose leaning over the bed of one of the girls.

"All right, that's enough!" Frank yelled.

"Mr. Callister, what on earth are you doing here?" Rose cried.

Frank grabbed her by the arm. "I'm arresting you and getting these girls out of here."

Joe watched as Rose turned her head and saw him for the first time. "How, how did you...?" she sputtered.

Joe grinned. "I'm a lot smarter than I look."

"Not really." Harold Sanders entered the room, a revolver pressed against Nancy's temple. "Let her go," he directed Frank, who dropped Rose's arm.

"Now move against this wall." Harold tightened his grip on Nancy and pulled her against him.

Shit. Joe could tell that Frank was furious, and knew he had to think rationally if everyone was going to get out of here safely. He hid his hand holding the candlestick behind his back, and leaned against the far wall of the room.

"So, Mrs. Callister, why don't you tell me who you really are?" Harold asked, pushing the gun further into Nancy's temple.

"Nancy Drew," she announced, her voice strong and defiant.

"Hmm, I might have known. Thought you could pull one over on me, did you?" Harold smirked. "Well, you can't."

He glanced around and nodded at Rose. "Now, let's see what we can do about improving the odds around here." He moved Nancy toward Rose, still holding onto her.

Joe watched as Frank's eyes darted back and forth. He knew his brother was fearful for Nancy, but he wasn't going to startle Harold into doing something stupid. Rose pulled out a hypodermic needle from the pocket of her skirt and uncapped it.

"What is that?" Frank asked, an edge of panic in his voice. "What do you think you're doing?" He started to approach Mr. Sanders.

_Don't move, Frank, _Joe willed silently from across the room.

"Stay right where you are," Harold warned.

Rose stabbed Nancy with the needle in the back of her arm. Nancy cried out, then crumpled to the floor.

"Nan!" Frank moved toward her, ignoring Harold Sanders' protests.

_It's now or never,_ Joe thought. As he jumped for Harold, the man reached out and grabbed Kimberley. He pressed the revolver into her swollen abdomen, stopping Joe in his tracks.

"Don't even think about it," Harold said. "I'll pull this trigger so fast, your head will spin."

Kimberley's eyes were huge and she began shaking. Joe backed away, not wanting to scare her anymore.

"Let her go," Joe said firmly.

"Not a chance," Harold said. "I am not going to get caught. All of this was my wife's idea, and I'm not going to pay for it."

"Tell that to the police," Joe said. "They'll work out a plea deal for you."

Harold laughed. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for that."

Frank had Nancy in his arms, and was trying to rouse her. "What did you give her?"

Rose shrugged. "A sedative. I'm not sure what's in it. Our doctor makes it up for us. She'll be fine. Just ask Joe."

Kimberley cried out, causing everyone to look in her direction.

"Something's happening." She looked down as a trickle of clear liquid ran down her leg. "What's going on?"

She clutched her stomach, causing Harold to move a half-step away from her.

Joe saw his opportunity, and immediately lunged, knocking Harold's hand down as he grabbed the man around the waist.

The gun skittered across the floor, and Frank leaned over and snatched it up.

Joe tackled Harold, bringing the older man to his knees quickly. He yanked Harold's hands behind him and held him there. "You know, I really ought to kill you for what you said about my girlfriend." He eyed the candlestick on the floor next to him.

"I-I didn't mean it," Harold stammered.

"Yeah? Why do I get the feeling you're lying like a rug?" Joe shoved the man forward, pressing his knee into Harold's spine, while keeping a firm grip on the man's hands.

"It was all my wife. I never wanted to be a part of this. It's her fault, all of it."

Joe snorted in disgust. "You're pathetic, you know that. You're too weak to stand up to your own wife, so you blame her for everything, and then you turn around and bully other women even weaker than you." He pressed his knee further into Harold's spine, causing the man to gasp. "Does it take abusing young, pregnant girls to make you feel like a man, Harold?"

"Her fault," the man hissed out.

"Yeah, tell that to the judge, you slime."

Joe looked up at his brother, who was keeping a close eye on Nancy, while at the same time, keeping the gun trained on Harold and Rose. "Frank, your belt."

Frank undid his belt and pulled it out of his jeans with one hand, tossing it to Joe who cinched it tightly around Harold's wrists.

Rose backed up against the wall, pale and trembling.

"Don't shoot me, please," she whispered.

"Sit down," Frank ordered, pointing to a rocking chair.

She did as she was instructed, and Joe tied her there with a scarf that was lying across one of the beds.

Kimberley cried out again and doubled over.

Joe exchanged a panicked glance with his brother. He knew absolutely nothing about childbirth or women in labor beyond that movie he'd had to watch in high school for health class. And he'd kept his eyes closed for pretty much the entire birth scene anyhow.

Amy and another girl helped Kimberley to her bed.

"What do we do?" Joe asked Rose.

"Nothing," Rose replied. "She's probably in labor, but it's her first baby. It's going to take awhile."

"Are you sure about that?" Joe looked at Kimberley who was moaning softly. He didn't think that was a good sign. And to quote one of Emily's favorite movies, 'He didn't know nothin' about birthin' babies.'"

"We need to get her help," Frank said. "Nancy, too."

"There's a phone in my office down the hall," Rose explained. "The key is on top of the doorframe."

"Thanks," Joe said, running out of the room.

Rose looked at Frank. "Will you tell them I helped you? The police, I mean?"

Frank gazed at Nancy's crumpled, unconscious form and anger welled up in him.

"No."

OOOoooOOO

Emily darted anxiously off the elevator in the hospital and raced over to the nurses' station. "What room is Joe Hardy in?"

"Are you family?" the nurse asked.

Agent McClafferty stepped up next to Emily and flashed her ID.

"Room three-fifty-four," the nurse replied.

Emily ran down the hall scanning the room numbers, not stopping until she reached three-fifty-four. She flung the door open and spotted Joe lying in a hospital bed…looking irritated.

He glanced up at her, smiled, and held out his arms. Emily couldn't help the sob that escaped her throat as she quickly crossed the room and collapsed on him.

"Oh honey," he said, stroking her hair. "Don't cry."

Emily lifted her head and looked at him. "Joe, I was so worried about you. Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

Not waiting to hear his answer, she cradled his head in her hands and inspected him for injuries herself.

"I'm fine." Joe said, leaning in for a kiss.

"She's not kidding about being worried," Agent McClafferty said as she entered the room. "I haven't been able to get her to eat anything. And I'm pretty sure she hasn't slept either."

Emily felt Joe pull away from her, and the anxious look on his face brought tears to her eyes.

"What?" Joe asked. "Baby, that's not going to work for me. The next time this happens, I don't want to hear that you haven't been eating or sleeping."

Emily shuddered. "The next time? Joe, don't say that." Because she definitely didn't want to think about any "next time."

He brushed her hair away from her face. "It's part of my job, honey. But I'll always come home to you, I promise."

"How long are they keeping you here?" Agent McClafferty asked.

Joe sighed. "They want to observe me, whatever that means. And I guess they're waiting for some toxicology report to come back from the lab."

He pressed a button on his bed and lowered the side railing. Emily climbed in next to him and nestled in his arms.

"They need to see what Rose kept injecting me with."

Emily's eyes widened. "Injecting you with?"

"I'm okay," Joe said, patting her tummy. "Still have our baby?"

Agent McClafferty smiled. "Until Mrs. Sanders is apprehended and the case is officially closed. Your dad and Agent Brown should be moving in on her soon."

"Where are Frank and Nancy?" Emily asked.

"Nancy's been admitted," Joe said. "She got a shot of whatever Rose was dishing out, and she's still unconscious."

"Yeah," Agent McClafferty spoke up. "Maybe I'll go check on her and the pregnant girls." She sighed. "That's an awful feeling to be so young and pregnant."

Emily looked up at the agent who smiled back at her and Joe. "I guess I don't have to ask if you two will be okay if I leave you alone for a minute."

Joe grinned. "No, I'm good with that."

As soon as Agent McClafferty left the room, Emily turned to Joe and he pulled her into him for a long kiss. "I was so worried about you." He kissed her again. "You were all I thought about. I was so afraid they were going to try and take you, too."

Emily clutched at him as he ran his hands up and down her back and nuzzled her neck. "Joe, I love you so much."

As she tangled her hands in his hair and brought her lips to his, she didn't think she could ever feel this much happiness. Her relief at having him back with her was overwhelming, and at the moment, she never wanted to leave his side again. She kissed him deeply and they fell back against the pillows, lost in each other's arms.

OOOoooOOO

Frank leaned over Nancy worriedly as she slept in her hospital bed. The nurse took note of her vital signs and wrote them down on a chart.

"Is she going to be all right?" Frank asked.

The nurse smiled at him. "She seems stable. We need to get the toxicology report back and we'll know what she was given. That will determine how we treat her."

Frank nodded as the nurse left the room. He leaned over Nancy and brushed some hair off her face. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have stopped Rose. Why didn't I stop her?" A single tear trickled down his cheek. "I love you, Nan."

Nancy stirred slightly and Frank's eyes widened. "Nan?"

Nancy's eyes fluttered. "Frank?"

"I'm right here. Open your eyes, honey." He leaned in close to her and brushed her cheeks with his lips.

Nancy turned toward him and her eyes started to focus. "Frank?"

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Frank, I think I'm going to be sick." She clutched her stomach as he quickly reached for the plastic basin on the nightstand.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Thanks for taking time to review, Sprite, zenfrodo, Jackie, unobtrusive, and Vinsmouse! Loved reading the comments! Getting close to the end here...but not quite. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 16

A doctor stepped into Joe's hospital room and raised an eyebrow as he looked up from his chart. Emily and Joe were engaged in a lengthy kiss and didn't seem to notice his presence.

"Well, Mr. Hardy," the doctor's voice boomed, startling the couple. "I take it you're feeling well?"

Emily dropped her head, blushing, and Joe grinned. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good."

"I still need to check you out one more time before we release you." He moved over to the bed and Emily slid off, standing next to Joe. The doctor examined him, then glanced at Emily. "It looks like you're maybe five or six months along, right?"

"Five and a half," she said with a smile.

"Have you been examined since all of this has gone on?" the doctor asked. "Worry on the mother's part can be stressful to a fetus."

"Um, well, no, but I feel fine," Emily said.

The doctor moved toward her. "I have a Doppler for my stethoscope. Let's just have a quick listen to the heartbeat."

OOO

Emily shot a look at Joe as the doctor helped her to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Um, Doc, that really isn't necessary in this case," Joe began.

The doctor placed his stethoscope over Emily's abdomen and turned on the Doppler. Pretty soon a "lub dub" sound filled the room.

Emily suppressed a laugh. She'd forgotten about the heartbeat feature of her pregnancy suit. Agent McClafferty had mentioned it to her in passing. But based on the look on Joe's face…he hadn't heard about it.

"It's a beautiful sound, isn't it?" the doctor remarked with a smile.

"Yes," Emily agreed.

"One hundred forty-eight very strong beats per minute," he said, turning off the Doppler. "You have a healthy baby there."

He made some notations on Joe's chart. "Okay, Mr. Hardy, it looks like the toxicology reports indicate that you were injected with a strong sedative. It might take some time to work its way out of your system. You'll feel nausea, maybe some fogginess, fatigue, but you'll be just fine in a day or two." He hung the chart on the end of Joe's bed. "You're free to leave. And congratulations on your baby."

"Thanks," Joe said, looking bewildered.

He turned to Emily as the doctor walked out of the room. "Are you _sure_ you're not pregnant, babe?"

OOOoooOOO

"Man, this has been one hell of a day," Fenton said, collapsing on the couch in Frank and Nancy's suite.

"You can say that again." Frank agreed, as he walked Nancy over to the bar and grabbed a soft drink out of the mini-fridge. "How did Mrs. Sanders take it when you broke in?"

"Not well at first, but since Lou had a gun on her, and we told her we had her husband in custody, she surrendered. Of course, she protested the entire time that she knew nothing about any baby selling scheme, and if that's what was going on, it was all her husband's fault."

Frank snorted. "Then those two are quite the pair, because all Harold did was blame everything on her."

"They deserve each other." Fenton looked around the room. "I could use some food."

"What do you say we order pizza?" Joe suggested.

"Sounds good, I'm starving." Emily smiled her first true smile in two days as Joe kissed the side of her head.

"Hang on, folks." Agent Brown held his hands up in front of him. "We have to report to police headquarters first."

"What?" Nancy shook her head. "Why?"

"Identification of suspects," he said. "I just got the word from my superiors."

"We should have stopped there when we left the hospital," Joe complained.

"If we had, they wouldn't have wanted us." Frank said.

"You're right on that, Frank." Fenton chuckled. "If there's one thing I've learned in all my years of police work, it's that efficiency isn't the name of the game."

"Who do they want?" Joe asked.

"Everyone," Agent Brown said. "Well, everyone except Emily. She wasn't kidnapped or hurt by any of the suspects, nor did she apprehend them."

"Thank goodness," Joe replied, kissing her again.

Frank clapped his hands. "Okay, then let's get this over with."

Agent McClafferty spoke up. "Well, why don't I stay here with Emily and we can have pizza waiting when you all come back?"

"Perfect," Frank agreed. He turned to Nancy, who was slowly sipping a diet cola. "You ready, babe?"

She nodded weakly. "As ready as I'll ever be."

OOOoooOOO

Emily looked at the closed door to the suite wistfully. "I wish Joe didn't have to go."

Agent McClafferty smiled. "You guys are something else. At first, I didn't believe two people could love each other as much as you do. I thought you were faking it."

"Really?" Emily was surprised. "I know my parents are that much in love. And so are Frank and Nancy."

"Frank and Nancy don't act like you two."

"Maybe not in public," Emily said with a smile, as she sat on a barstool. "Frank's a little more reserved than Joe. Don't you have someone special in your life?"

"I did." Agent McClafferty grabbed a soft drink for herself. "Once."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emily said. "I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's okay. I've been thinking about it these past few days," Agent McClafferty said. "It's really not fair you know."

"What's not fair?"

"How happy some people are, while others are miserable." She drank some soda. "Look at those poor girls Mrs. Sanders had. Their lives are so messed up. I'm sure they were in love with their boyfriends, too, but look what happened."

"Yeah, it's awful," Emily agreed.

"But then look at you and Joe," she continued. "Joe would never abandon you if you were really pregnant. I've seen how he looks at you." She sighed. "I've never seen a man look at a woman the way he looks at you."

"I'm very lucky," Emily agreed.

"Aren't you though?" Agent McClafferty took another sip of her drink. "I'll bet everything always works out for you, doesn't it, Emily?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, I thought for sure if life was fair, you wouldn't get Joe back." She laughed. "But that didn't happen."

"You wanted Joe to get hurt?" Emily was confused.

"No, I wanted some justice." Agent McClafferty stepped away from the bar. "Justice is something I've never had in my life."

Emily looked at her blankly.

"See Emily, when I was fifteen I got pregnant, too. My boyfriend loved me. At least, he told me he loved me. But you know what, he didn't. He ran. He abandoned me."

"I-I'm sorry."

"I told my parents. I thought they would help. I thought they would tell me what to do. How to get him back. You know what they did instead?"

Emily shook her head, her muscles tensing.

"They made me have an illegal abortion. They threw me in the back of their car and took me to someone they said would 'fix' everything." She laughed harshly. "You know what happened instead? I almost bled to death. I ended up in the emergency room, hemorrhaging. They had to remove my uterus to stop it."

She walked over to the fireplace and Emily stood up, slowly inching toward the door.

"Now I can never have a child. Never." She turned to Emily. "How is that fair?"

"It's not, Annie," Emily said. "But you can still be a mother. You can adopt."

"It's not the same. At least not for me." An odd look came into her eyes as she stared at Emily's mid-section. "You can have a baby. Joe _wants_ you to have his baby. He wants you to have lots of his babies."

Emily began moving closer to the door as Agent McClafferty continued to stare at her.

"You have a baby now, don't you Emily? You're pregnant."

Emily realized she still had on the maternity tummy. "Annie, no. I'm not pregnant. This is pretend. You know that."

"No," Annie said, coming closer to Emily. "You're pregnant. You're having Joe's baby. A girl." She smiled. "My baby was a girl."

Emily started to panic. She bolted for the door and Annie ran toward her, pulling out her gun.

"Where do you think you're going, Emily?"

OOOoooOOO

Joe shifted restlessly at the police station. "Can't we just get this over with?" He hated this part of detective work. Even though he knew it was necessary, it was still tedious. And for some reason, the goal at every police station he'd ever been in was to make it even more tedious than necessary. Joe knew they were just being careful, but it still bored him senseless.

A new line-up of suspects entered and Joe glanced up. "Number three."

The police officer wrote something down. "That's the man who kidnapped you, pulled a gun on you, and drugged you?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Joe said. "Can I go? I need to get out of here."

"What's wrong, bro?" Frank turned to look in his direction.

"I don't know." Joe sighed. "Something doesn't feel right. I want to go back to the hotel."

He couldn't explain it. He wanted to be with Emily. And it went beyond just missing her after a few days apart. There was an urgency to get to her, and Joe couldn't quite put his finger on where it was coming from. But he'd learned enough over the years to know he'd better act on it.

"Are you sick?" Frank asked.

"I am," Nancy said softly, holding a paper sack. "I just want to go to sleep."

"Well," Agent Brown spoke up. "Why don't we let you three go? If we need anything else, we can call you back tomorrow."

"Great," Joe said, eager to leave. "Let's go get some of that pizza."

"Oh crap, Joe, don't say pizza." Nancy clutched her stomach.

Agent Brown laughed. "Go on gang. Fenton and I will follow along in a few minutes."

OOOoooOOO

Emily stared down at the pistol Agent McClafferty was holding on her. "What are you doing? What do you want?"

"Just some justice." She waved Emily away from the door.

"Is it the baby?" Emily asked. "You can have the baby. You can adopt her after she's born."

Agent McClafferty laughed. "Oh, come on, Emily. Joe would never allow that. He's not one of those guys." Her expression hardened. "Not like Dan. He didn't want me to have our baby. He said he hated it and he hated me."

_Oh, no,_ Emily thought. _She is beyond reason. She's flat out crazy._ She tried to take a deep breath to steady herself. "Not every guy is like that, Annie. You can find someone like Joe. I know you can."

Annie laughed bitterly. "You think so, Emily? I don't. I've tried. Whenever guys hear my story they want nothing to do with me anymore."

_That's not because of what you went through. It's because you're a lunatic_. Emily remained perfectly still, hoping Annie would get distracted and allow her the second she needed to turn the door handle.

Annie moved closer to Emily and grabbed her arm roughly. "I'm sick of it. I'm tired of girls like you getting everything and girls like me getting nothing. I think it's time to even the score."

Emily watched as a slow grin spread over Annie's face when she looked through the sliding glass door. Her eyes seemed to settle on the hot tub in the center of the private patio and a chill ran down Emily's spine.

"Perfect." Annie's tone was deadly calm. "Just a little accident. You're so worn out with worry over Joe. You were fine when you went out there to relax." She shoved Emily forward. "Of course, I would never have known what was happening from the other room. Drowning is a silent death."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback, Jackie, unobtrusive, Sprite, Maddi, zenfrodo, Vinsmouse, leya, Caranath, and Lilith! You all truly made my day! Time for the last chapter...hope you like it. I have another story that's _almost _finished then needs to go to my beta, so hopefully it will be ready for posting in a couple of months. Thanks so much to those people who have been reading and were kind enough to put this story on alert or favorite it. It was very much appreciated! Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Chapter 17

"Come on Frank, hurry up." Joe's foot tapped incessantly against the floorboard in the back seat of the car, adding to the pounding in Nancy's head.

"No, Frank, please," she whispered.

"Nancy, the faster he drives, the faster you can get out of this moving vehicle."

"Damn it, Joe, shut up," she said. "Geez, how did you survive this stuff more than once?"

He has a cast iron stomach, Nan," Frank told her. "That's the only way he can eat half the crap he does."

"Frank, don't say 'eat,'" Nancy protested, holding the bag up to her mouth.

Frank chuckled. "We're almost there, babe."

"Yeah, don't barf in here," Joe ordered.

"I hate you, Joe," she replied as her stomach lurched.

OOOoooOOO

Annie McClafferty backed Emily against the sliding door leading to the patio.

"You can't do this, Annie," Emily said, trying as hard as she could to buy herself some time. "Your life will be over."

"They'll never suspect me," she said with an amused grin. "I'm an FBI agent. I'm one of the good guys."

Emily shook her head. "Joe will never believe it, Annie. Never."

"Joe will be too grief stricken," she said. "He's going to lose you and his baby." She waved the gun in Emily's face. "He'll understand how I feel. How unfair things are."

"Annie, you have a great job. You're helping people. All those girls today...you saved them," Emily gulped. "You saved their babies."

"But it didn't make me feel any better." She smiled sadly. "I thought it would, but it didn't. Then I realized what I needed to do. I need to make someone else feel what I felt. Then my pain will go away. They'll take it. It will become their pain."

"It won't help," Emily insisted. "Hurting other people won't make your pain go away."

"Why don't you let me worry about that?" Annie flung the sliding glass door open. "Get out there."

OOOoooOOO

Frank pulled the car into a parking space at the hotel. He patted Nancy on the leg. "Hang on, sweetie. Joe and I will help you out."

"I don't want to be rude, Frank," Joe whispered to him as they walked around the car. "But can't you handle this? I really want to see Em. I didn't like leaving her alone to begin with."

"This will only take a minute," Frank said, opening Nancy's door. "If both of us help her walk, then she'll be steadier." He leaned down and reached for Nancy's hand. "Come on, baby."

Nancy stepped out of the car, pale and wan. Joe reached down and took her other hand as Frank shut the car door. "It's okay, honey. We'll go slow."

OOOoooOOO

Annie pushed Emily out onto the patio. Emily looked around wildly for any way to escape, any way to cause a disturbance.

Annie gazed out at Mirror Lake for a moment, mesmerized by the view. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Amazing how water can be so beautiful and yet so destructive at the same time."

Emily pushed back against Annie, causing her arm to fly out and the gun to misfire into the air.

Annie turned, venom in her eyes, grabbing Emily just before she re-entered the hotel suite. "Oh, you are going to be sorry now," she hissed.

OOOoooOOO

Frank had one arm around Nancy's waist, holding her firmly, while Joe supported her on the other side. As they walked slowly toward the hotel entrance, a loud crack echoed through the air.

Joe startled. "Frank, what was that?"

Frank paused. "It sounded like a gunshot, didn't it?"

"And it came from the same direction as our suite." Joe dropped Nancy's arm and took off at a dead run.

Frank looked to Nancy, who was pale and unsteady. "Go, Frank. I'll just sit right here."

"Nan, I can't leave you," he protested.

"Frank, it was a gunshot. Go." She tried a smile. "I'd leave you."

"I'll be right back, baby, I promise." He settled her down on a bench outside the front entrance of the hotel and took off after Joe.

OOOoooOOO

Annie held Emily with her hands behind her back, then grabbed her by the hair, and shoved her face down into the hot tub.

Emily struggled hard, kicking behind her, twisting, anything she could think of that would cause Annie to loosen her grip. Unfortunately, with her FBI training, Annie was stronger than most women.

Emily managed to get her head above the water line once and gulped in a huge breath of air, before Annie shoved her under again.

_Oh God, she's really going to kill me. _

Emily tried moving her head to one side.

_Joe, where are you? _

She pleaded silently, hoping somehow he would feel that she needed him. Her thoughts were starting to get fuzzy around the edges. She tried kicking backwards at Annie's shins once more, but that only served to drain away what little energy Emily had left.

_I love you, Joe. I'll miss you so much,_ she thought, before everything went black.

OOOoooOOO

Joe exited the stairwell onto the floor housing Frank and Nancy's suite, with his brother right behind him. They dashed down the hall, almost running smack into Fenton and Agent Brown, who were stepping out of the elevator.

"Dad, we heard a gunshot," Joe said, somewhat out of breath.

"A gunshot?" Fenton looked alarmed. "From where?"

"Not sure." Frank paused for a moment. "Somewhere close by though."

"I need to make sure Emily's all right." Joe headed for the door to the suite.

Agent Brown drew his weapon. "Fenton and I will enter from the other door." He gestured to main entrance of the adjoining suite.

Joe flung open the door to the room after inserting Frank's key card. He dashed inside and ran toward the sliding doors, as he spotted Agent McClafferty and Emily near the hot tub. "What the hell?"

Annie turned when the door opened, releasing Emily, who crumpled to the ground, motionless.

"Don't move!" she yelled out to Joe, pointing her pistol at Emily's head.

Joe froze in his tracks, his mind trying to process what he was seeing. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?"

Annie smiled. "I couldn't let her have the baby, Joe. It wasn't fair. It's not fair."

It wasn't fair? What the hell was she talking about? Why was her weapon drawn? He stared at Annie, seeing the crazed look in her eyes, and his stomach gave a sick lurch as the reality of the situation finally registered.

"Emily!" Joe cried out loudly and lunged toward her. Frank reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Don't, Joe," he hissed. "She'll shoot her. She's crazy."

Joe stood, staring at his girlfriend lying on the ground...lifeless, and panic twisted in his chest, squeezing the air from his lungs. For one dark, unending moment, his heart refused to beat. Then it roared back to life with a vengeance and Joe tried to pull out of his brother's grasp.

"I have to get her. She needs me."

"One more minute, Joe," Frank whispered, as Fenton and Agent Brown crept around the fireplace.

"She can't have your baby, Joe," Annie said, looking down at Emily with what Joe thought was a pleased smile on her face. "Now her baby is dead, too. Just like mine."

"Oh, God, Frank, let me go!" Joe pleaded, straining against him.

"Emily!" he cried out again, seeming to startle Annie with the raw emotion in his voice.

Agent Brown took that half second and fired his weapon. The bullet hit his partner in the shoulder, causing her to release the gun, as her arm fell limply to her side.

Joe broke free of Frank and scooped Emily up in his arms, bringing her inside the suite.

Annie looked down at her shoulder in shock as the blood ran down her arm. "You shot me," she said, looking up at her partner.

"Damn right I did, and I'll do it again if you take so much as one more step," he replied, leveling his weapon squarely at her chest.

"Is she breathing?" Frank asked as he and Joe knelt down beside Emily.

"I don't know!" Joe was panicking...he knew it, but the thought of actually losing her was overriding all rational thought at the moment.

Frank placed his fingers against her neck and felt a pulse. He smiled at Joe. "She's alive." He leaned his head against her chest. "I can't tell if she's breathing. If she is, it's shallow."

Strength welled up in Joe and he resolved that nothing was going to take Emily away from him.

He pushed Frank away and tilted Emily's head back, covering her mouth with his own and breathing for her.

"Come on baby," he said. "Breathe for me." He placed his mouth over hers again. "Emily, please baby. Please. I need you. Please baby, breathe."

Frank sat back on his heels and echoed Joe's sentiments_. "_Breathe, Emily. Don't leave Joe. Please don't leave him."

As Joe closed his mouth over hers a third time, Emily began coughing.

"Oh, thank God," Joe said, tears flowing down his cheeks. He turned Emily's head to one side as water began draining out of her mouth. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back. "That's it, baby. Get it all out."

Emily choked and spat water as her eyes slowly opened.

"Joe," she whispered hoarsely.

Joe snatched her to him and fell backwards against the couch. He buried his face in her hair, knowing he was holding her too tightly, but unable to let her go. She was alive.

Emily clutched at him. "Where's Annie? Joe, she tried to kill me."

"I know, honey. It's all over now," Joe said, kissing the side of her head. "Don't worry."

Fenton came over, his face full of concern. "Is she all right?"

"I think so," Frank said. "We need to get her to the hospital, though."

"The ambulance is on its way." Fenton looked around the room. "Where's Nancy?"

Frank's eyes widened. "I'll be right back, Dad."

OOOoooOOO

"She can see you now," a doctor told Joe with a smile, as he stood nervously pacing in the hospital waiting room.

"Is she okay?" Joe's voice had an anxious note to it.

"She will be," the doctor replied. "She was extremely lucky. Her x-rays were clear and her lungs look good. We'll have to keep her here for a day or two though. We don't want her getting any kind of infection or unexpected complications."

Joe nodded. "But she's going to be all right?"

The doctor smiled. "Yes, she'll be fine. Go see for yourself."

Joe hurried past him into the hospital room. He paused, staring at Emily in her hospital bed. She looked so small and fragile. The crushing anxiety he'd felt in the hotel suite, had sunk like a lead weight through his stomach and was now centered somewhere around his knees, making his legs weak and unsteady. He rushed to her bedside and sagged against it, swallowing hard.

_I could have lost her._

He shook his head, trying to push the thought out of his mind.

Emily stirred slightly and Joe leaned over, determined to be strong for her.

"Hey baby," he said, softly brushing the hair on her forehead.

Emily's eyes opened and her hand reached up for his. Joe took it and kissed it tenderly. She glanced around, a slightly frightened look coming into her eyes.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Just some IVs to help you out and some oxygen." He bent down, brushing his lips against her cheek. "You're going to be just fine."

Tears pricked the back of his eyes, and he struggled for control as he dropped her bed railing and slid in next to her. "Is this all right?"

She nodded and smiled as Joe pulled her close to him. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him. "This isn't your fault, Joe," she managed to get out in a hoarse voice.

He couldn't answer her, but Emily persisted. "You saved me. You're my hero."

He closed his eyes tightly, leaning his head against hers. "Em..." he began.

Emily reached up and put her fingers on his lips. "No, I don't want to hear it. I love you."

Joe brought his mouth down on hers, kissing her tenderly. "I love you, Em. So much." He covered her lips again, his kiss soft, sweet and full of emotion.

"Well, I could have told you_ this_ is what we'd find them doing," Frank said, with a wide grin as he and Nancy stepped into the room.

Joe broke away from his girlfriend to see Frank and Nancy with two pizza boxes and a bottle of root beer in hand.

Frank set the boxes down on Emily's nightstand and walked over to her bed. "How are you, cutie?"

Emily smiled. "Much better now. Thanks."

"Hey Nance," Joe said with a smile. "You don't look like one of the living dead anymore."

"No, the drug finally wore off," she replied, opening the pizza box and handing Joe a slice on a paper plate. "Thank goodness." She looked at Emily. "Do you want some?"

"Yes, please. I haven't eaten in forever," she said with a little laugh that made Joe's heart sing.

"Where's your baby?" Nancy asked, pointing to Emily's flat stomach.

"I don't know," Emily said. "I guess they must have removed the suit when I came in." She grinned. "I'm not pregnant anymore."

"For now," Joe said, nuzzling her neck. "But I can't wait to get you pregnant for real."

Frank coughed. "Too much information, Joe." He took a slice of pizza from Nancy with a smile. "I do have an update on our case though." He took a big bite and held up his hand.

Nancy laughed. "What he means to say, is that all of the girls are being reunited with their families."

"That's great news," Joe said.

"Yeah, but they still have a difficult road ahead of them," Emily said with a sigh.

"And some hard decisions to make." Nancy passed Emily a slice of pizza and a plastic cup of rootbeer. "But at least now, they'll have the support of people who love them."

"And," Frank spoke up, "Kimberley just had a healthy baby boy about an hour ago. Nine pounds."

"Wow," Joe said. "Good for her."

"Jodie is also doing much better," Nancy added. "She's been upgraded from critical condition."

"Also, good." Joe grinned as he took a large bite of his pizza.

"And what about Annie?" Emily asked in a quiet voice.

Nancy cleared her throat. "She's in lock-down in the Psych unit."

Emily grabbed onto Joe's shirt. "In this hospital?"

"She's under lock and key," Frank reassured her.

"I'll never let her get near you, baby." Joe kissed her. "I promise."

Emily shivered. "I won't be able to sleep just knowing she's in this building."

"You're not going to be alone." Joe set down his pizza and wrapped both his arms around her. "I'm staying right here until they discharge you."

"And he will, too." Frank drank some root beer then grinned at Emily. "Little things like 'hospital regulations' have never gotten in Joe's way before."

OOOoooOOO

Annie McClafferty sat up in her hospital bed and looked around her room. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost midnight. Time for a shift change.

She reached over and clamped her IV tubing before removing the catheter from her arm. Standing, she walked over to the closet. At the bottom, in a plastic bag, were the clothes she was admitted in. _These people are even more incompetent than I thought._ She quickly stripped off her hospital gown and got dressed.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her room, finding a police officer sitting in a plastic chair next to the entrance. Annie flashed her ID at him. The officer seemed startled.

"I didn't know anyone was in there with her."

Annie nodded. "Agency rules. All female detainees must have a matron accompanying them."

The officer nodded.

"Uh, the restroom in there is out of order, so I'm just going down the hall for a minute," Annie said.

"Do you need me to sit with her?"

"You can't. You're not a woman. That would leave us wide open for a lawsuit." She shrugged. "You know how it is."

The officer snorted. "Yeah."

"She's out cold anyway," Annie said. "I'll be right back."

She strolled down the hall and around the corner. She flashed her ID at the orderly behind the sign-in desk and he buzzed her out. Annie walked through the doors of the Psych unit and into the main part of the hospital.

OOOoooOOO

Emily felt the water rising around her, enveloping her, covering her, smothering her_. _

_I can't breathe,_ she thought. _I can't breathe._ Annie's face loomed over hers. _She's so angry. Why is she so angry? She's trying to kill me. She's– _Emily gave a strangled cry and opened her eyes. Joe was holding her tightly.

"It's okay, baby. I'm right here. You're safe." Joe's words were simple and reassuring, and he repeated them over and over, kissing her face and hair gently, and rubbing her back until her breathing returned to normal.

Emily leaned back on the pillows, Joe's arms securely around her. She sighed and looked toward the door of her room. She glanced at the narrow, rectangular window cut into it_. No. No, it couldn't be_. She sat up again, panicked.

"What is it, baby?"

Emily opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. _It wasn't real. It couldn't have been. It's part of my nightmare._

Joe sat up and looked at her. "Honey?"

Emily shook her head. "I'm okay. Just a bad dream."

Joe lay back down and pulled her with him. "Nothing can ever hurt you when I'm here. I promise."

He drew her into his embrace, and she snuggled into him. Emily knew he was right. She never felt safer than she did when she was in Joe's arms. He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you."

OOOoooOOO

Annie McClafferty paused outside of Emily's room. Their eyes had met for a moment. She looked through the window of her door once more. Emily and Joe were entwined together and appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

Annie turned from the door, a smile on her face, as she walked down the hall, through the main doors of the hospital, and out into the dark night.

THE END


End file.
